With the Guinness Women’s Six Nations around the corner, Scotland winger Rhona Lloyd has paid a visit to Caledonian Thebans to highlight the importance of recognising mental health and inclusivity in rugby.
An excellent new mini-documentary – ‘Rugby For All: LooseHeadz and Vodafone Unite with Caledonian Thebans’ – shows Lloyd welcoming rugby’s mental health charity, LooseHeadz, to Scotland’s oldest inclusive rugby team where her dad Robert is a coach.
Part of Vodafone’s partnership with LooseHeadz will see the network provider supply sim cards to mental health leads at rugby clubs up and down the country to help them stay connected.
And Lloyd, who has scored 25 tries in 52 caps for Scotland, was delighted to join in an indoor training session with the Thebans.
“What’s special about Caledonian Thebans is that both teams at the club advertise themselves as all-inclusive rugby teams and they give people a real safe space to compete in rugby, practice and embrace the community,” Lloyd said.
“They’re a club that really pride themselves on having that family value and having everyone feel welcome, so having that connection with LooseHeadz and Vodafone is only going to allow them to do more of what they’re trying to do; to get more people involved and to keep building.”
Rob, a tighthead prop at Thebans, talked about how being part of the team allows him to feel comfortable and be around people who embrace each other for who they are.
“For me, the sports world was always challenging, in the sense that it was hard for me to be open about who I am and identifying as a gay man,” he said.
“Going into a normal, mainstream club, that can be quite scary. Here with the Thebans, I don’t feel like I have to hide myself at all and that was a big fear of mine going into a standard club and having to fight that uphill battle.
“With the Thebans, everyone is there to support each other, so instead of running up a hill alone, you have 14 other players running up with you, by your side.”
Co-founder of LooseHeadz, Rob Shotton, added: “Rugby is about the togetherness, the camaraderie, the connections and what I like to call the ‘clubhouse’ feel. If you walk into any clubhouse in the world, you feel like you instantly have a load of new mates. That’s the feeling that is given off here at Caledonian Thebans.”
Watch the mini-documentary here.
Find out more about Looseheadz here.
The Guinness Women’s Six Nations runs from March 22 to April 26 and Scotland start versus Wales at Hive Stadium in round one – get tickets for all three Scotland home games here.
Scotland women’s training squad (number of caps in brackets, uncapped players in bold)
Forwards
Leah Bartlett – Leicester Tigers (38)
Christine Belisle – Loughborough Lightning (40)
Becky Boyd – Loughborough Lightning (uncapped)
Sarah Bonar – Harlequins (42)
Elliann Clarke – Bristol Bears (15)
Hollie Cunningham – Bristol Bears (uncapped)
Evie Gallagher – Bristol Bears (31)
Adelle Ferrie – Edinburgh Rugby/Corstorphine Cougars (uncapped)
Jade Konkel – Harlequins (66)
Rachel Malcolm – Loughborough Lightning (52, C)
Elis Martin – Loughborough Lightning (15)
Rachel McLachlan – Montpellier (46)
Aila Ronald – Edinburgh Rugby/University of Edinburgh (uncapped)
Molly Poolman – Edinburgh Rugby/Watsonians (uncapped)
Lana Skeldon – Bristol Bears (74)
Alex Stewart – Edinburgh Rugby/Corstorphine Cougars (8)
Anne Young – Loughborough Lightning (15)
Molly Wright – Sale Sharks (23)
Backs
Leia Brebner-Holden – Loughborough Lightning (5)
Beth Blacklock – Saracens (3)
Rhea Clarke – Edinburgh Rugby/University of Edinburgh (uncapped)
Rhona Lloyd – Les Lionnes du Stade Bordelais (52)
Caity Mattinson – Trailfinders Women (27)
Francesca McGhie – Leicester Tigers (17)
Liz Musgrove – Trailfinders Women (18)
Helen Nelson – Loughborough Lightning (65, V-C)
Rachel Philipps – Sale Sharks – (uncapped)
Chloe Rollie – Trailfinders Women (70)
Lucia Scott – Edinburgh Rugby/Gloucester-Hartpury (3)
Emma Orr – Bristol Bears (24)
Lisa Thomson – Trailfinders Women (64)
Hannah Walker – Edinburgh Rugby/University of Edinburgh (uncapped)
Evie Wills – Leicester Tigers (3)
Meg Varley – Bristol Bears (uncapped)
Day trainers invited into camp to support their development (all uncapped)
Forwards
Talei Tawake – Edinburgh Rugby/Watsonians
Holland Bogan – Glasgow Warriors/Stirling County
Natasha Logan – Edinburgh Rugby/University of Edinburgh
Emily Coubrough – Glasgow Warriors/University of Edinburgh
Backs
Hannah Ramsay – Edinburgh Rugby/University of Edinburgh
Poppy Mellanby – Glasgow Warriors/Biggar
The Caledonian Thebans are pictured
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