Blog: Action woman

Hooker for the day!

Over the years I’ve paced hundreds of rugby pitch touchlines; I’ve lost count of the number of Six Nations, Internationals and World Cup - my claim to fame is I once played Paintballl with the South African rugby team during the 1999 World Cup - games I’ve been to and whilst living in Edinburgh, I played in the touch rugby tournament every summer. However, I’ve never been on a rugby pitch with a full squad before, so when Peter Heydon asked me if I would like to go training with the Puma’s Rugby Club, I didn’t hesitate to accept.
I have to say on the afternoon in question, I wasn’t feeling quite so exhilarated by the idea, but it was self-inflicted in one way – one too many glasses of wine the night before – and minus a pint of blood in the other – it had been blood donor morning.
It had been six years since I had worn my rugby boots, so it felt a bit odd walking on studs again, not to mention onto the training field full of Puma players, all looking at me rather curiously. Peter introduced me and then asked club captain, Naci Hoşan, to lead the warm-up. We jogged round the ground a couple of times, spinning the ball to each other, then forming a circle, proceeded to stretch our muscles, starting with the neck and moving all the way down to the ankles.
When I arrived at Alsancak Football Club, where the Puma’s play and train, I had been somewhat taken aback by the large number of cars and people in the stands. To my relief they were watching a game of football and not there to witness me being put through my paces with the rugby boys. I’m not sure if the game of football was a bit on the boring side, but I did notice that people on the top rows of the stand, which overlooks the training field, kept peering in our direction. I guess it did make an amusing sight, 22 young lads throwing a rugby ball to a middle-aged woman!
Once well and truly warmed-up, not to mention feeling a little light-headed - well I was one pint of blood short – we started on some drills. We queued up in two lines then one by one, holding the ball up above our heads, had to run through what looked like a rope ladder laid on the ground, lifting our knees as high as possible, then we had to side step round some cones (my version of which looked more like a soft shoe shuffle apparently!) and then we had to run at Peter and his assistant coach, Richard Bradley, who were holding what can only be described as a couple of cushions from sun loungers, in an attempt to drive them back. With a definite lack of proper rugby equipment and scrum machines, you can’t say they don’t improvise.
Once we had all had a couple of attempts at this and Peter was satisfied we had done a suitable job, the backs and forwards were split up to practise skills relevant to their positions. I have always felt that if I had ever taken up full contact rugby, I rather fancied playing fly half, not least because it is the position played by Jonny Wilkinson, my all time sporting hero. However, it was the forward pack that I went with, to try out in the lineout and the scrum.
The rules have changed over the years that I have been a spectator of the game, lifting in the lineout is now legal. So with a brief explanation of how to jump so I could be lifted correctly, I was then hoisted high up into the air ready to receive the ball. I am very pleased to say I caught it all four times we tried it, although that may have been assisted by the fact we had no opposition trying to rob us of the ball rather than my rugby skills. This was the moment that the opposing team for the Puma’s match on Sunday, the Ottoman’s from Istanbul, started arriving and looking rather bemused to see a woman on the team.
I have to thank my two very gentlemanly lifters, Devron Derviş and Adem Bayram for so expertly lifting me and making me feel perfectly safe 10 feet up supported by four arms and to the accurate throwing of the hooker, Burker Uçtu.
Burker then kindly gave up his place in the scrum so I could feel what it was like to have my arms around two props and heads of the second row either side of my thighs, I still think I would rather be a fly half!
It was at this point I thought it time to leave the boys to some serious training so they could prepare for their game the next day.
I have always admired the game of rugby, so it was with great pleasure that I found there was a team playing in North Cyprus. Sadly it is not always easy for them to find teams to play against, made even more difficult now that the army sides in the south have had a directive from the MOD saying they can no longer travel to the north as a team. On a more positive note, Devron Derviş does play for the Cyprus team, who beat Greece a few weeks ago – like Ireland the country can only field one international team.
I would like to thank all the players, they treated me very gently on the day and the coaches and to wish them luck with future games and training.

The Puma’s Rugby Football club.
Formed in October 2003 with just eight GAU students throwing the ball around to give them something to do on a Saturday, the team has grown to a full squad which has played seven official games to date.
Peter Heydon joined as coach in December 2003 and by October the following year had assembled a serious team, training twice a week throughout the rugby season, Wednesday evenings on the GAU football pitch and Saturday mornings at the Alsancak Stadium. With poor support from the GAU, the club will be looking next season to sever ties with them.
Although most of the players are foreign students including two Sri Lankans, one Iranian, one Uganda, one Nigerian and many Turkish, the club has always been open for anyone to join and coach, Peter Heydon, is hoping more expatriate players will start showing more interest.
The players are trained in the main by Peter Heydon, ably assisted by Richard Bradley and helped out by Eddie Smith, Barry Lambert and Keith Alexander. Almost all the kit has been donated by rugby players from the UK and the fees required to pay Alsancak Football club for use of the pitch have been paid by Dr Hacer Çerkez of Kormen Beton Construction.
For more information on the Puma’s Rugby Football Club, contact Peter Heydon on 0533 847 2158

by Claire on 13:09 on 10th May 2007