On any Guinness Women’s Six Nations matchday as well as the women working hard on the pitch there are women working hard off it.
And that was the case during round one of the tournament when up-and-coming photographer Ruby Adam was pitch side taking images of the Scotland-Wales clash at Hive Stadium.
“I grew up moving around the world as my dad worked in the diplomatic service,” Ruby, now 25, explains.
I was born in Falkirk, but lived in Austria, Turkey and India before returning to boarding school in Dollar when I was 14.
“My parents where based in New Delhi while I was at boarding school, so I was fortunate enough to spend all the school holidays out there.
“In terms of photography, well growing up my mum always had a half decent camera and would take my brother and I out to parks and the likes for mini photoshoots.
“As I got older and figured out how to use it, I would grab her camera at every opportunity. Living overseas my parents often hosted receptions and parties for work, I figured out I could stay up past my bed time and join in on the party if I took on the role of photographer!
“Being in Turkey and India at the time, I was also surrounded by amazing natural beauty, architecture and so on. The opportunities were endless and I got to dip my toe in all sorts of photography.
“I’m not sure how to put my love of photography into words exactly, but I just get such a kick from taking photos.
“Whether it’s a candid smile or a hard tackle, I love being able to freeze moments in time to look back on. Photos mean so much to me, I can spend hours going through pictures of myself with friends and family over the years, so being able to capture that for other people gets me really excited.”
So, when did Ruby move into sports photography?
“I got into sports photography when I went to boarding school, my brother joined the rugby team and I had a kit lens with a decent zoom so I’d roll out of bed on a Saturday morning and head over to the playing fields,” she explained.
“That’s when I caught the bug for it, the possibilities of what you can photograph in a whole rugby match felt endless and unpredictable. I realised I enjoyed that more than asking people to stand still and smile, so ran with it.
“Now, 10 years on, I spend the majority of my spare time on the side of a pitch somewhere. My family have always been big Falkirk Football Club fans, so you can imagine my excitement when I got the opportunity to photograph my first game at The Falkirk Stadium.
“I’ve been shooting Falkirk games for just over a year now and have loved being able to get involved in the club in one way or another. I primarily shoot football and rugby, as those are the sports I’ve always known the most about, but I’d always be open to trying out more.
“In terms of my rugby links, well after a year or so of photographing my school’s rugby team I asked my brother how and if I could play.
“I had never seen a space for me in sports before, but rugby appealed to me as a game for everyone. He introduced me to his classmate Evie Wills and she took me along to my first training session at Stirling County.
“I loved it right from that session and, as my parents were out of the country, Evie and her dad Mark, who was also one of our coaches, would give me lifts to training week in, week out, and I’ve always be so grateful for that.
“I made friends for life there and, whenever I was on the bench, I would pull out my camera and shoot bits of the game. It was an excellent team to be a part of, with a lot of them going on to play for Scotland now such as Evie Wills, Evie Gallagher, Eva Donaldson, Elliann Clarke with many more playing at a good level.”
Seeing her old team mates playing for their country had Ruby itching to get into photographing rugby at a professional level as she is so proud of them all.
“The first women’s international match I photographed was Scotland versus Wales on the September 6 last year,” Ruby, a website manager who is also studying for a business management degree at Heriot-Watt University, said.
“It was a brilliant win against the Welsh, made all the more exciting with Evie Gallagher, my old team mate, getting the first points on the board for Scotland.
“I loved covering that match and then it was great to be back at the Hive more recently to cover the Wales Six Nations game.
“I watched last year’s Six Nations from the stands, so it was very exciting to be pitch side this year and the win made up for the downpour in the second half too!
“I plan on covering the Italy game on April 13 and, thanks to the BBC moving Partick Thistle versus Falkirk to a Friday night for TV coverage, I’ll now make it to the Ireland game too on April 26.
“I have applied to photograph the Rugby World Cup and have pre-booked some hotels down south for it too, as a freelancer I’ll just need to cross my fingers and hope that they approve my accreditation.
“I love women’s rugby and this is a big year for the game, so whether I am pitch side capturing the memories or cheering on our women from the stands, I can’t wait!”
Keep an eye on Ruby’s photos during the Guinness Women’s Six Nations via her Instagram page.
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.
Ruby Adam is pictured, in the main photo she is with Evie Gallagher – thanks to Bryan Robertson
GH Media will be covering Scotland women’s journey right through to Rugby World Cup 2025, bringing insight from within the camp throughout and featuring other parts of the game in this country too – thanks to those already supporting the content, if you or your company would like to get involved please email gary@gh-media.co.uk