This week’s blog comes from Sophie Robertson, who plays for Falkirk Rugby Club, volunteers as a youth coach, and runs the Falkirk Women’s social media platforms, helping to promote the team and encourage more women and girls into the sport.
Falkirk Rugby Club rounded off Scottish Women and Girls in Sports week 2025 with a fantastic celebration of female rugby that brought the whole club and community together. From their minis section all the way to their women’s team, female athletes from across the club came together to show off their skills and passion for the game.
Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week is a campaign created by the Scottish Government to encourage women and girls to engage in exercise and stay active. This year’s theme was celebrating activity in its many different forms, with the tagline “Find Your Fit”. The week plays a crucial role in showcasing women and girls in sport and highlighting the numerous benefits that participation brings.
In celebration of this week, Falkirk Rugby Club hosted matches featuring their U14s and U18s girls’ teams, as well as their women’s team. Alongside all the rugby action, they ran a range of fun activities, including a craft station and a Come & Try session led by members of the women’s team, giving women and girls of all ages and abilities the chance to get involved and experience what Falkirk Rugby Club is all about.
The day was a huge success, with the club welcoming visiting girls’ teams from Currie, Marr, Cambuslang, Garioch, Murrayfield Wanderers, and Stirling County, as well as Edinburgh University’s Lady Dick Vets who faced Falkirk Women in the afternoon fixture. The minis also played their part, forming a guard of honour for the women’s team before kick-off and helping out as ball girls and boys throughout the day.
Organiser of the event, women’s team captain and U14’s girls’ coach, Morven Hylands, said: “I wanted the girls to see how big women’s and girls’ rugby already is and how far it can grow with them driving it. They’re part of a massive shift in how we view women’s sport, and I want the club to provide the opportunities that come with that. I also wanted to highlight what it means to be a woman or girl in a high-impact sport, that we don’t have to change who we are to fit into rugby. There’s a space for everyone here, and they can come as they are and unapologetically be themselves at Falkirk.”
Awards were presented to each team’s Player of the Match, and everyone was treated with post-match pizza and nachos. Club members also supported the day by running a cake sale, adding to the community feel.
To top off an amazing day, Falkirk Women came away with a strong win in their league fixture, which sees them sitting at the top of the table, the perfect ending to a week celebrating women and girls in sport.
The women’s team coach, Callum Hunter, said: “It was a really positive day all round. From a coaching point of view, it was probably the best performance I have seen from the girls, with a lot of things from training clicking into place. From a club perspective, it was great to see so many female players at the club and to have seven former youth players and two current youth coaches in the senior squad. It created a great atmosphere and showed how far the female pathway at the club has come.”
With over 120 women and girls taking to the pitch and fantastic crowds cheering them on, it’s fair to say the day was a triumph. Coming off the back of a successful Women’s Rugby World Cup, the event helped keep the momentum going, showing that grassroots women’s rugby is thriving too. Embracing the “Find Your Fit” theme, Falkirk Rugby Club brought together players young and old, from all backgrounds, proving that women and girls in rugby, and in sport, are here to stay.
The club now looks forward to building on this success and inspiring more women and girls to become a part of the community. Those interested can find Falkirk Rugby Club on Instagram (@FRFCWomen, @FRFCYouths), on Facebook (Falkirk RFC Women, Falkirk Rugby Club Youth Teams), or contact cjh.rugby@gmail.com for more information.
