Rugby - the highest form of procrastination

To introduce our new website, we are running a series of blog posts from our players exploring what being part of York RI Women’s Rugby means to them. Backs coach Ruth Whitehead talks about how rugby has slowly but surely taken over her life…

At the beginning, I didn’t really care too much about rugby. I had always been an athletic kid and I had also always been hypercompetitive. I hated losing, hated being bad at things (even if I’d never done them before) and loved the feeling of winning. Something that I learned to tone down eventually as I discovered that not everyone feels that way! I played a little rugby at school and did Taekwondo for 9 years but as teenagers do, I eventually lost interest. 

Around 12 years old I was scouted at an after school club and sent the details for Yorkshire rugby training. My Dad and I turned up to Huddersfield RUFC (google it, it’s a stunning backdrop) and I played on the wing for 20 minutes. In those days county rugby was easy to get into as there just weren’t enough girls to make it competitive. After that I joined West Park RUFC and my dad would drive me every Wednesday night to training and to games on Sundays. 

But I wasn’t all that invested in rugby. I fell asleep watching matches on the television and apart from the odd kick about, I never practised. I just liked spending time with my dad. It’s something I’ve always associated with him. Something him and I shared. 

I went to university through clearing and chose York. I turned up to my first training session nervous, lacking confidence but quickly realised that I was one of the lucky ones. I had been playing for 6/7 years by this point, I understood the drills, and I picked up skills quickly. I remained on the fringes of the club for most of my first year, avoiding socials because I was shy. 

Then I got voted in as Vice Captain for my second year. And rugby took over my life. 

If you were wondering what the title of this blog meant, you’ve never been on a university rugby team or been on the organising side of a team. Eat, sleep, breathe rugby. I loved every second and that year I really found my confidence. What started as a degree in Environmental Science quickly became a rugby degree with a side of study. 

At university I learnt a few things. Firstly, an outsider's perspective of rugby was that it was a sport for the big, the rough and the heavy. At fresher fairs we’d be met with looks varying from shock or horror at the thought of playing - or just disgust at being asked. The second thing I learnt was that that outsider perspective is simply not true. I’ve never seen a sport more suited to such a huge variety of bodies. We need the bigger, heavier, stronger players and we need the fast, agile smaller players. We need players that are strong and agile. We need the players who haven’t played any sport since PE - even if they think they’re too unfit to get started. Everyone has a role and there’s space for everyone on the team. 

Thankfully attitudes have changed a whole lot since 2014 and rugby is a much more accessible sport. There’s a long way to go but I think that people are a lot more open minded to the possibility of playing and it is truly an inclusive environment free of judgement that other sports often harbour. 

At the end of my second year we were deep in preparation for Roses weekend and I had to go on a course trip abroad. I remember desperately wishing that I didn’t have to go, even considering faking a phobia of flying. I sometimes wonder how my life would be now if I had. One drunken night resulted in a fractured spine after I fell 5 metres off a wall and shattered the front of my L1 vertebrae. 

I missed Roses weekend and it broke my heart. The team messaged me regularly, checking how I was, when I’d be home. Their support, ultimately, made the difference between me having a successful rehabilitation or just giving up and wallowing in my depression. When your life revolves around a sport it becomes part of your personality - so what happens when it’s ripped away? 

Initially the surgeon said I may never run again. But I am stubborn (and lucky). I worked hard to rehab myself and a year after the initial incident, the metalwork was removed and I was given the all clear to play again. In September 2016 I played my first game since shattering my L1 vertebrae. It was at home, against Bradford, and the emotional release was huge. 

Sadly my dad passed away in October the year before from a sudden heart attack. He never got to see me play rugby after the fracture and I’m still sad about that. But my mum and the rest of my family did - and that’s just as good. My mum has come to every single game since. I think we feel closer to my dad that way. 

After university I started a team at York RUFC. In our first year we were undefeated and in our second year we won the league to gain promotion. Sadly covid threw some spanners in the works and the team disbanded. I went self employed and found myself working out of a small gym within York RI RUFC. And I’ve been there ever since. 

I’ve played at plenty of clubs and there’s never been one that’s stood out like RI. The club is inclusive and a safe space for everyone who chooses to train there. There is a community feel to RI like nothing else and the players on the team have become some of my closest friends. There’s a reason we plug ourselves as the friendliest team in the north! 

My spine has finally caught up with me - 8 years after the initial accident - and I have hung up my (contact) boots. Despite this, RI held me tight and offered me a space on the coaching team. My time playing contact is over but I’m not done with rugby yet. I am so excited to see what Ican bring to the team as a coach and extremely grateful for the opportunity and the support that the team has shown me. 

If you live near enough, you should try rugby at RI. New to rugby or experienced, it doesn’t matter. Competitive or just there for a social, we’ll welcome you with open arms. If you feel like you’ve never fit in on a sports team, give us a chance. If you can’t play for RI, play for literally any other club. Just play rugby. 

And if you’re wondering about the title of this post, what do you think I am doing right now? Once I’m done procrastinating with this I’ll probably look at this weekend’s rugby fixtures, plan some drills for next week’s training session and then spend 20 minutes daydreaming about how the team is gonna smash the league this year. Then (maybe) I’ll do some work.