Eilidh MacGilvray admits being involved with Glasgow Warriors during the recent Celtic Challenge was a surprise, but she grabbed the opportunity with both hands and really enjoyed it.
Between mid-December and last weekend Glasgow and Edinburgh Rugby squads were involved in the high level event with Irish and Welsh teams.
There were some tough results for Glasgow, but they did get a first win ever at this level at home to Edinburgh and made good strides under head coach Lindsey Smith.
And back-rower MacGilvray, 21, also made good strides during the event, showing that she can more than mix it with some of the best at this level.
“I really enjoyed my time with Glasgow,” MacGilvray, who lives in Boat of Garten, said.
“Before it all started I didn’t expect to be involved given that I’d been living abroad for three years and, more recently, had been playing club rugby outside the top flight, but it was a real boost to get the call up.
“I didn’t know too many of the girls in the squad before it all began, but as soon as I went to my first training session everyone helped me feel welcome.
“There was no doubt that it was a bit of a steep learning curve, but I had great people with experience to learn from such as head coach Lindsey Smith and former and current Scotland caps Lisa Martin, Abi Evans and Mairi McDonald.
“There was a great culture and great team spirit built up amongst the squad quickly and even though we lost the first few games we always had belief that we were building things up.
“The feeling after the home win against Edinburgh at Scotstoun was a special one and on the day everyone just gelled really well and it showed us all what we were capable of.
“Personally, I took a lot from the experience and enjoyed testing myself. We were up against Irish and Welsh internationals at times and it was physically tough, but it was a very rewarding experience overall.”
MacGilvray’s rugby journey began at Grantown Grammar School in Grantown-On-Spey around eight or nine years ago and soon continued at the Highland club.
“We started having some training sessions at school and I found it really enjoyable,” she recounted.
“Our teacher had connections with Highland and at the time the club were trying to really get their girls section up and running so she encouraged a number of us to head along and play there.
“We did that and it was good fun, it is a really good community club that gets everyone involved. Before rugby I had been quite involved in cheerleading, but as soon as I got involved in rugby I loved the team and social aspect of it.
“I played with Highland up to the under-18s and then they didn’t really have a senior women’s team at that point and I had already been thinking about going to university in America anyway.
“I ended up going to Life University in Atlanta, Georgia, and I really enjoyed my time over there and the rugby. In the rugby set up there were players from all over the place with different levels of experience and I learnt so much about keeping standards high and working hard over there that I think have served me well going forward during my time with Glasgow.
“The sporting culture over there is crazy, the student body really comes out to support the team in big games and dealing with that pressure was also a good part of my learning curve.”
MacGilvray spent three years in America and returned in August and was just planning to play for Highland in Arnold Clark Caledonia North One with her friends this term until the Warriors’ call up came.
“Before being involved with Glasgow I was loving playing for Highland because I never got the chance to play senior rugby for them before I went away to America,” MacGilvray, who is helping coach girls at the Canal Park club just now, said.
“To see the growth in girls and women’s rugby at Highland is so exciting and I can only see that continuing to grow going forward.”
Eilidh MacGilvray is pictured – thanks to Glasgow Warriors for the images
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