Christine Belisle says she is “hanging up my boots for the rest of this campaign and putting my brain and family time first”.
The 31-year-old tighthead prop is set to miss the Guinness Women’s Six Nations games with Italy, England and Ireland as a result.
On Tuesday evening the popular Loughborough Lightning player took to Instagram to say: “Hi friends, this feels weird, but equally would be strange not to share, so, without going into too much detail, I’ve had some family health concerns that popped up when we began 6N prep.
“I thought remaining in camp would be the best thing for me as I’d stay busy with prep and everything that comes with it, but, alas, the 6N is both the best time of the year and the ultimate pressure cooker and, as it turns out, I couldn’t ‘smile and wave’ my way through it.
“So, after the most incredible support from my friends and team mates, our coaches, doctors, physios, S & C and psychologist, I’ve been able to make one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to in a long time –
I’m hanging up my boots for the rest of this campaign and putting my brain and family time first.
“The support I’ve felt to make this decision has made carrying the load a wee bit lighter and I hope that I can come back feeling like myself again, but better and brighter than ever”.
In 2015, Belisle travelled from Canada, where she had grown up, to Glasgow to attend a wedding – and little did she know at the time that it was going to be a lifechanging trip.
She ended up loving Scotland, staying here and getting back into rugby which she had played in her teens in Peterborough, Ontario.
Belisle joined Cartha Queens Park and, come 2019 after she had qualified to play for Scotland via residency, she was earning her first international cap on a tour to South Africa.
She now has 41 caps under her belt having converted from back-row to front and last played in the win against Wales in round one of the Six Nations off the bench on March 22.
The Scotland squad are currently out of camp and will be back early next week at their Oriam training base. The tightheads left in the current group are Elliann Clarke and Molly Poolman.
The Guinness Women’s Six Nations runs from March 22 to April 26 and, next up, Scotland are at Hive Stadium in round three versus Italy on April 13 – get tickets for the two Scotland remaining home games here.
Christine Belisle is pictured recently – thanks to N50 Photography
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