Rugby is known as a quintessentially rough male sport, but the women can enjoy it too. More and more women are doing it and it is also becoming more popular among girls. At the Rugby Club Waterland in Purmerend they hold a Girls Rugby Festival to get girls excited about the sport.
Even though the interest in the sport is growing, according to the club, it can still be much better. The ladies of Rugby Club Waterland became national champions last year. Something that 13-year-old Mieke de Vries also aspires to. She is a great talent and already plays as a youth international. She will be going abroad for the first time next week. In England, the mecca of rugby, she will play a number of matches.
Brother
Mieke started playing rugby because of her brother. “They were short of someone in their team and then I came in. And I liked it so much that I stayed,” she says.
Mieke helps the new girls on their way. Like Janna who has never held a rugby ball in her hands. “I don’t know anyone here and I wanted to try rugby because I’m looking for a new sport.” Until now, Janna has been skating and rollerblading and thinks she prefers a team sport. “I like it,” she says after an hour of playing, “I’m still in doubt because I also really like water polo. It’s a bit like playing around with a ball.”
dirty game
Danique Nikkels is a player of the first team and an experienced hand. At the age of 15 she discovered rugby through a cousin and hung up on her cross bike. She enjoys playing together in a team. “You can see that men’s rugby is already booming, but I’m happy that more and more girls are discovering it.”
And is it just as hard and dirty with the ladies as with the men? “It is a dirty game, but there is also a lot of respect for each other. You take each other down in a technical way. You don’t want someone to break their leg.” And taking that down is one of the greatest charms of the game, Mieke also thinks. “I like tackling the most.”