When she missed out on playing rugby for a number of months earlier this year 20-year-old up-and-coming talent Holland Bogan realised just how much the sport meant to her – and she is now very much making up for lost time.
The Scotland age-grade cap was injured whilst on Celtic Challenge duties with Glasgow Warriors in February, a PCL and MCL knee injury ruling her out for seven months including 12 weeks in a brace.
Since she returned to action in September with her club Stirling County. Bogan has really hit the ground running and been in top form, even scoring five tries in one match as the Bridgehaugh side went through the Arnold Clark Women’s Premiership regular season stages one and two unbeaten.
And now fully fit and back in action the mobile second-row/back-row has a Premiership Grand Final to look forward to this coming Saturday when County host Watsonians (4.10pm, live on BBC ALBA) and then the Celtic Challenge straight after with Glasgow.
Given that the Celtic Challenge regular season runs until March and then there could be play-offs while she is a Scottish Rugby supported player this term based out of Oriam and is also in her final year studying for a sports psychology degree at Stirling University, Bogan has a busy time ahead.
But she would not want it any other way and she will also be keen to try and earn a place in Scotland’s 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations training squad.
“I love to be busy and I love to be busy with rugby,” the energetic character said.
“At the start the injury was really frustrating and it really made me appreciate how much playing means to me.
“In the summer I was watching a lot of my friends playing for the under-20s in Wales and others at the World Cup in England and I just wanted to be out there on the pitch.
“But I tried to use the down time and rehab time to reflect on everything I have done in the last few years. Pretty much since I was in the Scotland under-18s I have been busy with representative teams like the Futures and the 20s as well as with Cartha and County and Glasgow so although I didn’t want a break I tried to use it positively.
“And it was really exciting when I was told I was going to be a Scottish Rugby supported player this season and to hear that 35 players up here and down south and in France are being supported in some way. That show of faith from Scottish Rugby in me was a big boost and in the last few months it has been great to be based at Oriam and getting more time to work on my game.
“I have had time to work on areas of my game that I want to improve in going forward such as the breakdown and lineouts and the added focus on things like nutrition, S&C and psychological support is huge.
“These are the kind of things that if you can learn more about them then they can really elevate performance.
“I want to keep learning and try and take my all-round game to the next level heading into 2026.”
Bogan was born in Scotland, but spent a year of her early life in Florida and then around 10 years in Amsterdam.
It was in the capital of the Netherlands that her parents had met a few years before and Bogan laughs: “After they gave me my name, I was known for a while as Holland in Holland!
“I have an older sister so I am not sure why I was the one to get named after the country, but it is kind of cool.”
When back in Scotland, Bogan was playing football in her teens at Eastwood High School in Glasgow when the penny dropped that she really wanted to give rugby a go.
She started her rugby journey with Cartha Queens Park before moving onto County.
This campaign coming up will be her third in the Celtic Challenge with Glasgow Warriors and she stated: “I can’t believe it’s already been three years, but having missed the end of 2024/25 with the Warriors I’m really grateful to be back at Glasgow.
“I am only 20, but I feel like I am one of the leaders in the group and I’m passionate about playing for Glasgow and just what it means to run out at Scotstoun and how lucky we are to do that.
“I have been making that point to the new faces at training in recent weeks and I think we have a really exciting core squad together that is ready to give it everything in the Celtic Challenge. We are from lots of different clubs, but soon we will be teaming up and playing together and that blend and that unity excites me.”
Holland Bogan is pictured – thanks to Julie MacDonald
From November 14 to December 14, GH Media will be featuring on all aspects of women’s rugby in Scotland including the exciting conclusion to the domestic Premiership, news on Scots playing down south and lots more during a busy month.