Grapevine - December 2018

Becky said:
“Of the girls who turned up to the first session,
only six had any sort of rugby experience. The
rest of us were totally new to the sport and had
never touched a rugby ball before. They were
nervous and lacked both confidence and the
most basic of rugby skills. It was tricky for our
coach to plan training sessions that kept the
experienced players interested but weren’t too
daunting for our newcomers. But just a year later,
they’re all getting stuck in and there’s no stopping
them now.”
Next season they hope to enter the league
system, but have to play 10 friendlies first:
“We put off playing games initially as we wanted
to get all the girls up to a certain standard first.
We didn’t want
to rush in, injure
people and put
them off. We’ve
now played
four of those 10
games with the
rest scheduled for
later in the season.
Getting into the
league would be a
huge boost for us.
It would give us
greater exposure
and find it easier
to attract players
and sponsors.”
For Becky though, setting up this team was about
far more than just rugby. She wants it to be a hub
of the community and be a place that gives social
opportunities to those who otherwise might feel
isolated:
“Part of the reason for setting this team up was
to get girls with little or no social life out of the
house and to meet new people. We want the club
to evolve into a community initiative, whether it’s
to help to tackle isolation, support people with
mental health problems or simply giving people
the opportunity to get fit. I have lots of ideas,
including setting up a walking rugby team aimed
at older people. We can do so much more than
just play rugby.
The club continues to go from strength to
strength and is continuing to attract new players.
“We welcome anyone over the age of 18 – any
ability, any fitness level, any experience. They can
join at any time, there’s no need to wait until the
start of the season. We can also help arrange lifts
to training for anyone who can’t get there or lend
each other kit if needed. It’s a proper team effort
and we all support and help each other.
“Anyone who feels nervous about joining just
needs to remember that most of us were in their
position this time last year, so you’ll get plenty of
support and encouragement from us.
“We’ve come so far in just over a year. Looking
back when we started we had no pitch, no
coach, no kit, no clue! We’ve come so far in such
a short space of time and if we continue in the
same vein then the future for women’s rugby in
Port Talbot is looking very bright.”
Anyone interested in joining the Talbot Reds can
find out more information by searching for Talbot
Reds on Facebook.
Give us a try!
Tai Tarian tenant, Lauren, is just one of the
girls to have joined the Talbot Reds. She said:
“It’s such an exciting time to be part of the
Talbot Reds team. I’ve made so many new
friends since joining and I really enjoy getting
stuck into the training and playing in the games.
I would say to anyone thinking about joining
to just come and try it out. We welcome
anyone, of any ability and there is always
someone on hand if you need any help or
advice. Come and give it a go.”
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