Scotland rugby star Emma Wassell says she is “honoured and emotional” at being able to share her inspiring story with a wider audience with a special documentary film about her being made available from this weekend.
On Thursday evening, Wassell, her international team mates and others who have played a part in her journey in recent times gathered at the Everyman Cinema in Edinburgh to watch the first ever screening of the documentary ‘Emma Wassell: Laoch’.
The film, made by Scottish Rugby in collaboration with Vodafone, follows Wassell, the 31-year-old second-row from Newburgh near Aberdeen with 72 international caps to her name, after the discovery of a tumour in her chest in August 2024 which required major surgery while she was also grappling with the sudden loss of her mother Pauline a few months earlier.
During Scotland’s pre-season training camp at Oriam on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Wassell thought she was simply feeling under the weather when her neck became sore.
An appointment with a physio did not reveal any obvious cause of pain, but the discomfort continued despite taking her doctor’s advice to drink fizzy juice and see if it dislodged any food stuck in her throat.
Wassell then went to A & E in Edinburgh and while in the waiting room her neck began swelling. Following CT scans, doctors found the benign tumour in her chest.
A full sternotomy operation – a surgery where the breastbone is split to allow access to the heart and chest cavity – was then carried out in November of that year to remove the 27cm tumour and while those close to her were just worried about Wassell’s recovery, she had her eyes fully focused on making it to the Rugby World Cup in England in August and September 2025.
Wassell, who began her rugby journey with Ellon, battled to make it back in time to play her part in that showpiece event and, after the film premiere, she said: “It is genuinely surreal and I am so honoured and emotional right now.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that anyone would be making a short film about a period of my life.
“It was a very tough period in my life, but I’m just so honoured that I’ve been able to share it and also see the incredible amount of light that has come out of it in terms of the support I’ve had from my team and so many other people.
“When I was in the thick of it in the hospital there would often be a joke like, ‘God, this should be a TV show or something’.
“We would joke about it, but then I think the reality of it all hit at that time, we didn’t know what – or how severe – the outcome could be, so I think everyone was very sensitive around that.
“But then, when I was on that road to recovery, it very much became thinking about if my journey was something I would maybe like to share.
“And if me sharing my story can help any person in the world, then what a real honour for me to be able to do that, so we pressed on with the film and I am so happy with the outcome.”
Before the tumour, Wassell had already been playing for Scotland for many years, but she admits she feels like a different player and person now – Emma Wassell 2.0 if you will.
“It’s a different life, it is a real different life now, but as a player and a person in general I feel good and I feel proud of what I have done,” Wassell of English PWR top flight side Trailfinders Women, who is known as Laoch by her team mates which means warrior in Gaelic, explained.
“After the passing of my mum I very much took that as an opportunity to live life to the absolute fullest and put my heart and soul into things I was passionate about.
And I am hugely and immensely passionate about playing for Scotland. When I got sick, there was kind of no other option for me other than to put your absolute all in getting back to playing and I am so glad that I did.”
Wassell, who also lost her dad David when she was 10 and has a brother Terry who is a great support to her, added: “I will never give up and my love of playing for Scotland will never be dimmed especially with dad and mum looking down on me and supporting me as my crazy journey continues.”
Scotland-England ticket holders for the match on April 18 will get early access to the documentary via a password-protected webpage today (Saturday) while everyone else will be able to see ‘Emma Wassell: Laoch’ on Scottish Rugby’s official YouTube channel from 7pm tomorrow (Sunday).
Wassell and Scotland are currently preparing for the Women’s Six Nations with their opener versus Wales in Cardiff coming up next Saturday.
Emma Wassell is pictured at the premiere – thanks to Scottish Rugby/Kirsty MacLachlan
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