Celtic Challenge: Rhea Clarke seeing less of the M8 now and instead keen to motivate Edinburgh to upcoming wins

Gary Heatly

Rhea Clarke is enjoying playing for a new team in the Celtic Challenge this season and wants to kick on with Edinburgh Rugby in the next few weeks.

The former Queen Anne High School pupil, who grew up just outside Saline and began her rugby career at Dunfermline as a youngster, turned out for Glasgow Warriors in last year’s competition which pitches Scottish sides against their Welsh and Irish counterparts.

However, this year in the expanded six-team/10-match event that began just before Christmas, the Edinburgh University student is playing for the capital side.

“It has certainly been interesting making the move, but I am on the M8 a lot less now,” the 21-year-old scrum-half joked.

“From playing with Scotland under-20s and Edinburgh University I knew a lot of my Edinburgh team mates anyway and although we are a young squad we have got a lot of experience in different ways.

“For example, Alex Stewart is only 20, but she is our captain and has full Scotland caps to her name.

“It’s nice to see how everyone’s bringing their own skills to the party and their own experiences from different clubs and representative teams and I think we are gelling pretty well.

“We know that we could have been a bit more clinical at times in some of our games, but we have some excellent backs in the team with real pace and as a scrum-half it is up to me to get them as much ball as possible.

“I am enjoying learning in my position now that I have Scotland under-20 experience and such like under my belt and I just try to bring tempo to the game and make the right decisions more often than not.”

So far in the Celtic Challenge for 2024/25, Edinburgh, who finished second last term, are sitting fourth in the standings after two wins and two losses to date.

Next up for them is Welsh side Gwalia Lightning away this coming Saturday and, having been pipped 29-27 by the same opponents at the weekend just gone at Hive Stadium, Clarke and co will be out for revenge.

Meanwhile, while pleased with her own recent game time, Clarke has also been happy to see her older sister Elliann, the 23-year-old Scotland tighthead prop, back in action recently with Bristol Bears down south.

“She was working so hard on her injury rehab after coming back from WXV 2 in October and she was quite gutted to miss out on a number of games, but it has been so good to see her back playing recently,” the younger Clarke said.

“She has come back looking really fresh and she is scrummaging against some of the best players in the world down in the PWR.

“They have good facilities there and the environment that she’s in down there is excellent and she is really loving it.

“She’s also training with some of the best and getting better every week and it’s nice to see her confidence is growing, especially coming up to Six Nations time.”

Thanks to N50 Photography for the image of Rhea Clarke in recent action for Edinburgh Rugby

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