Scottish Rugby hopes 6 Nations attracts more female players

(From left to right in the front row) Scotland players Jemma Forsyth, Lisa Martin and Jade Konkel join (from left to right at the back) SRU head of womens rugby Sheila Begbie and SRU vice president Dee Bradbury to promote the #Be The Best You campaign. Picture: SNS/SRU

The “#BeTheBestYou”  initiative aims to change perceptions about women’s rugby and capitalise on the feelgood factor created by the progress of the national women’s team during their recent Six Nations  campaign.

Scotland Women achieved their first Six Nations victory since 2010 when they beat Wales this year, and then backed that success up with another win against Italy. They were also desperately unlucky to lose out to an injury-time try against  Ireland in the opening match of the tournament.

Sheila Begbie, responsible at the SRU for the around 3,000 girls and 1,000 women who currently play the game, said: “We want to push our women’s national team players out there to be role models and ambassadors to attract people into women’s rugby.

“To inspire other women to come and try the sport – it doesn’t matter what size or shape or age you are, there is always an opportunity if you want to play rugby.”

The campaign will be promoted throughout Scotland, initially as an online campaign using video, digital creatives and social media interaction from players across the women’s game.

The style and presentation of the campaign aims to tap into the ‘fitspiration’ approach used by other sports to capture the imagination of potential players and encourage them to enjoy its physical and social benefits of being an active participant in the sport – regardless of their experience, age or fitness levels.

The campaign invites  anyone interested in trying the sport out to visit www.scottishrugby.org/bestyou to register for ‘come and try’ events across the country at selected hub clubs which run women’s teams.

A campaign day will be held at the St Enoch Centre in Glasgow this Saturday, which will feature Scotland Women players and  encourage the public to sign up to local events with  prizes, incentives and fun activities between 12pm  and 2pm.