Building Belonging: The rise of Girls Rugby in Canterbury
“It really shows if you provide the right environment the girls will come and play. The girls who love it invite their friends and they have been a big help in breaking down the barriers of getting involved in a sport that’s traditionally male dominated”
A born and bred Cantabrian surrounded by sport, it was only natural that Sophie Thompson laced up the boots, and has gone on to pave the way in the Women and Girls space, across both Touch and Rugby. Playing a season for Burnside before residing in England, and going on to play five seasons in Spain, in Sophie’s words “I’m the first to admit I was never an amazing player but rugby was a great way to make friends and build connections. No matter what country you’re playing in, it’s a universal language.”
Sport being a huge part of her family culture, somewhat of a tradition, Thompson transitioned into the coaching, managing and volunteering space, driving the growth of our girls game at Marist Albion. “The reality is all sports require volunteers, it made sense to get involved and share my passion and love for the sport. You don’t have to be a national champion to get joy from it or to form your sporting family, I wanted to lend a hand in any way I could so my own children can enjoy playing sport too” said Thompson.
The establishment of the Marist Albion girls-only junior, and intermediate teams happened organically and has just grown exponentially from there. Sparked by a poster advertising a girls only “have a go” session hosted by Canterbury Rugby at Nunweek Park in early 2023, Thompson and good friend Tim Willets turned up with their rugby mad daughters, and left having formed their first team. By the end of the first season one team had already become two with a wider age range of girls taking to the field. By year two the girls were recruiting their friends and Marist Albion had grown again with a third team being formed. “It really shows if you provide the right environment the girls will come and play. The girls who love it invite their friends and they have been a big help in breaking down the barriers of getting involved in a sport that’s traditionally male dominated” said Thompson. This season Marist Albion has five teams across the two age groups and over 70 girls registered to play on Monday nights, no mean feat for a club that started with just two girls a few seasons ago. There is something about the physicality of rugby that makes our girls feel so proud and brave, and really connected with their teammates” said Thompson.
Thompson’s not stopping there, with the long term goal of increasing participation to the point where grades won’t have to cover up to three age groups, especially in the younger teams. “It’s a few years off yet and would require more clubs to get involved, so I issue that challenge to all clubs. For the growth and preservation of our national sport, more people and clubs have to get on board and embrace having and including girls in the game” said Thompson. A teacher by trade, Thompson believes that coaching is way more than just the sport itself, it is about helping foster and developing a players personal self esteem, sense of self-worth and supporting players to build positive connections on and off the field. “I actually see my main role as more of the 'Hype Girl', I always think if I can support even one girl to find connection through sport when things might be tough at home then it is all worth it. I try to make it as fun as possible for the girls, and my teaching background certainly helps”.
Canterbury Rugby Woman and Girls lead Steph Te Ohaere-Fox attributed the growth to having incredible volunteers saying “With passionate people like Soph driving it from their clubs it helps their teams to grow, she has such strong communication and creates connection between parents and players in their environment.” Why play on a Monday night? You might be thinking. Going outside the box and ditching traditional mindsets that Saturday is the only day of the week, is what attributes to the competitions success.
With Football and Netball to name a few also playing in weekends, a weeknight allows girls involved in multiple sports to give rugby a go. “It can be played on any day of the week, we just want our tamariki, our rangatahi, our wāhine playing the sport, regardless of what it looks like. Whether they start with non-contact, or they’re playing tackle, we’re here to build it for our community” said Te Ohaere-Fox.
Getting young girls involved in the sport isn’t without its challenges. Learning how to properly tackle, go into contact, fall in contact and enter a ruck are just some of the skills required for success on the field. Canterbury Rugby, committed to having a position on the team for everyone, offers non-contact modified versions of the game like Rippa to combat this and get girls on the field, before progressing through the grades. The plan is to pilot ‘contact ready’ alongside New Zealand Rugby, a programme to be rolled out in schools that’s designed to build confidence in tackle for girls who haven’t played before. Te Ohaere-Fox encourages people on the fence to come and see the girls out there having fun “There’s some great examples of athleticism and a diverse range of girls with huge smiles on their faces, just loving it while getting muddy as hell”.
Women’s rugby has really taken the spotlight with the huge success of our National 7’s and 15’s teams on the International stage, highlighting opportunities and pathways for woman in the sport. Nurturing the current environments to keep our girls and woman in the sport being the key Te Ohaere- Fox says it’s all about connection. “There’s a strong sense of camaraderie, we have the music on, it’s inviting and fun warming up altogether, despite being rivals on the field. As soon as the games are over it’s all hugs and photos, they’re making friends for life.
For any girls out there wanting to get involved it’s not too late to join this season, check out the details below and get in touch today!
Ma te kotahitanga e whai ai tātau - In unity, we have strength
Monday night girls only | Nunweek Park
4:30pm | School years 4-6
5:30pm | School years 7 & 8 (+ new to rugby year 9’s) under lights.