3. Garnet Mackinder
We head down to Devon for the third in this series of articles about Women in Sport; to Sandy Park in Exeter to be precise, home of the Chiefs, one of two clubs (Sale Sharks being the other) to join the top-flight of elite women’s rugby union for the 2020/21 season.
The exploits of Exeter’s men’s side have been widely reported: promoted into the Premiership in 2010, the club lifted both the Premiership and European Champions Cup earlier this year to round off a quite remarkable decade.
Now though, it is the turn of the women to begin a new chapter; and I was lucky enough to be offered not one but two interviews with members of a squad that has already recorded an historic first Allianz Premier 15 win over Worcester Warriors, followed by an incredibly long coach journey and second victory, away to the rebranded DMP Durham Sharks.
The first conversation is with the Chief’s Garnet Mackinder, who I would class as a “flying winger”, two words that certainly could not be used to describe my time on the rugby field as a schoolboy. My playing days came in multiples of five; I started as a second row (no.5) because I was tall; then moved to fly-half (no.10), apparently I had a reasonable right boot; before ending up at full back (no.15) because there was basically nowhere else to hide me…
Garnet, however, has already enjoyed a fantastic career, having represented Saracens and Wasps at club level, as well as earning international recognition with England 7s. First though, I wanted to ask Garnet how she felt things were progressing after just a few months with a brand new club.
She had scored twice in the Sharks win, the second try rounding off a move that started just outside the Chiefs’ own 22: full back Merryn Doidge throwing a sublime dummy that fooled the Sharks defence (as well as me watching the highlights), before passing to Garnet who outpaced four defenders for a brilliant score. Had those two wins changed the feel of the season?
“I fell for the dummy too!” Garnet laughed. “Yes they have definitely made a difference. We do have three tough games coming up, so I think it was important to get that boost from having those wins under our belt; and we can go into our next game [against Wasps] with a bit more confidence and hoping that we can cause a bit of an upset...
“We had actually lost by just two points to Bristol a few weeks earlier; we really felt we could have sneaked a victory there, so it was great to win two games on the bounce. Training’s going well and we’ve got a couple of weeks to prepare for Wasps, so we’re really pleased with how things are going.”
I had also seen the highlights of the Worcester win, which had included a try scored from a line-out close to the Warriors line. One of the trademarks of the men’s side is the ability to take line-out ball, create a rolling maul and power over the line – something I pointed out to Garnet in an early attempt to appear knowledgeable - and the women’s side’s decisive second-try was every bit as impressive.
The rise to domestic and European prominence of the men is a truly great sporting achievement, but does their success provide a boost to the women’s squad, does it bring some kind of pressure, or are the two sides seen as very much separate and distinct?
“It’s difficult at the moment, because of Covid, that we unfortunately haven’t had any real interaction with the men’s squad, but hopefully that will change in the future; we’ll get to know them and have some socials and things like that. That said, we’re still aiming to play a very similar style, and it’s good that you recognised that from our game-play [’Knowledgeable’ is my middle name!]. We’ve got some of the same set pieces and moves as the men; obviously making some changes if certain things don’t work in the women’s game, or for us as a squad.
“The majority of our tries have come from the forwards, from drive-overs, or pick and gos, so it’s something that certainly seems to be working for us; but it was great against Darlington to get the ball down the line and for the backs to score some tries as well. I had quite a few carries in the Worcester game, but didn’t quite get over the line, so I was pleased to take a couple of chances against Darlington.”
For the record, my middle name is actually John…
I was keen to find out how the squad approached the trip to Darlington. While Exeter were recording their win over Worcester the previous weekend, the Sharks were on the wrong end of a three-figure drubbing away to Wasps, and the combination of those results effectively meant that the newcomers were going into only their fifth-ever competitive game as favourites…
“Susie [Appleby] and Amy [Garnett], the coaches, stressed that we couldn’t afford to be complacent going into the game. The fact they hadn’t had positive results so far meant that they’d be wounded and come out all guns blazing; and that was definitely the case. It was also a new challenge for us; a seven-hour bus journey is always going to be difficult, and they opened the scoring as well, so it was always going to be a tough game.
“Having said that, we were a bit disappointed that we didn’t score a few more points in the second half, but we’re still finding our way at this level and the next few games will definitely show what we’re made of, and how mentally tough we are.”
One interesting and immediately obvious aspect of the Exeter roster is the wide variety of nationalities represented within the new squad: the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, USA and Canada all have players now plying their trade in south Devon. Creating a team from scratch that is capable of competing at the top-level of the domestic game is a huge challenge, but how have players from so many different countries blended together?
“It’s been strange, but because of Covid a lot of them didn’t come over until fairly close to the season starting,” Garnet admitted, “but we’ve got three Americans, a few Canadians and a Japanese girl, as well as players from Europe, so the squad is really diverse; and it’s great to have people who play in different ways trying to gel together, especially as it was all fairly last-minute.
“The American girls only had one or two training sessions before the season started, so we’re still coming together and haven’t quite reached our potential yet; but we’re getting there and hopefully the next few games will be when we show everyone how far we’ve come…
“That said it’s great having all the different personalities and we’re improving with every game. I just wish we could have more socials together and really get to know each other a bit more; but I’m sure that will happen.”
Garnet had mentioned Covid, a word that crops up in conversation all too often these days; but has the presence of the virus had any major impact on the players – other than obviously denying the squad the chance to perform in front of a crowd on match days?
“We have temperature checks before training and matches, and have to fill out questionnaires about whether we’ve had any symptoms. We’ve all just been told to be sensible, and to be fair, there’s not really much we can do during lockdown anyway!
“Quite a few of us actually live together, Garnet added. “I live with two of the squad, and there are quite a few rugby houses around the city, so that helps us stick together and not get too lonely during lockdown.”
But isn’t Exeter Garnet’s home city?
“It is, and my mum’s still here; but I don’t think she would want me moving back in at my age!” she chuckled. “It’s great having her and the dogs close by so I can see her regularly.”
“The club has been great with organising accommodation, so I’m actually renting Ollie Devoto’s house; the Canadians are in a house together, and a couple of the girls are waiting for their house to be ready and are living with a family at the moment … and having a lovely meal cooked for them every evening as well!”
The next logical question was about part- and full-time athletes, and the balance between work and playing elite sport. The truth is, I didn’t ask the question until later in our chat, but thanks to the miracle of ‘cut and paste’, everything now flows almost seamlessly…
“I’m actually in the minority as a part-time rugby player,” Garnet explained. “The majority of the girls are on a full-time programme, which is brilliant. Again, I’ve never been at a club where there have been opportunities like that; for instance, the Academy girls train full-time then I think they go to college one day a week, and get paid by the club. Linde [van der Velden] will tell you more about her situation, but I believe the club got her a part-time job in architecture, which is amazing; and I live with Kate Zackary, who’s from the America; she’s still working on their time as well as playing rugby, so she’ll often be up until really late, which certainly isn’t easy. So yes, we’re all in slightly different situations…
“I think if I was 18, I would have loved to be on a full-time programme, but because I guess I’m coming towards the end of my rugby career, I’m really happy with where I am professionally, and I didn’t want to lose that. The balance works really well; there’s flexibility in my role with Sport England, I can work from home, and I live ten minutes from the club at the moment; so getting to training is never a problem.
“We get match fees and food after training, so it’s definitely getting more professional; everything about Exeter is great, things are going well on and off the pitch, and I feel very fortunate … but I still wish I was 18 again!”
Is the situation a reflection of Exeter Chiefs, or more the sport in general?
“I think it’s a bit of both. I was at Sarries [Saracens] maybe four years ago now; times have definitely changed and I’m sure it’s different now to when I was there. It’s always going to be difficult for Wasps, because they’re still based in London and not in Coventry, so they don’t have the same level of facilities. They’re as professional as they possibly can be, but the club can’t really move up to Coventry, because most of the girls live and work in London; but Exeter have been brilliant and so supportive – not just the club, but the local people as well.
“It’s been really positive on social media with people asking how they can get to see the games and when will they be able to come and watch us,” Garnet continued, “and I’m hoping that when the rules change, we’ll get quite a decent number of spectators coming to the games.
“In the past, the crowds haven’t been all that great; it’s often close family and friends and the total will be in the hundreds. I think Harlequins have had a crowd of around 1,500 but that was for a big game and a bit of a one-off; but I’m hoping that because everybody loves rugby down here that we’ll get quite a few people coming along, especially as they’ve not been able to watch any live rugby for such a long time.”
I’m sure the powers-that-be at Exeter will find ways to encourage local fans to come along at watch the women’s squad in good numbers when the opportunity finally presents itself; but I wondered if a double-header with the men might be one way of boosting attendance and creating a positive atmosphere in which to perform. I thought it was a good question…
“In my experience double-headers haven’t quite worked.”
I was wrong…
“In fairness, when we had them at Wasps and Sarries, we always played after the men,” Garnet explained. “People just want to get home and it’s a bit depressing seeing people leaving while you’re doing your warm-up.
“Logistically it can be difficult because not that many stadiums have the space for two teams to change and warm-up; but it might be possible at Sandy Park because we’ve got the top pitch where we could be warming up and go straight onto the pitch; and the top pitch has changing rooms as well, so I suppose it might be possible.
“The problem if we played first would be that the men would want to warm-up on the main pitch, and would spectators be willing to come along early and then wait for the men to go through their pre-match preparations? It’s difficult to know which way would work. Obviously the aim is to have our own match days, but the occasional double-header would be exciting.”
Going back to the start of Garnet’s rugby career, I had read that she’d made rapid progress once she’d found a love of the game. Garnet nodded.
“A coach came into school when I was in my last year, and ran a taster session. I really enjoyed it, so I joined a local club, Exeter Saracens in the under-18s; then I went on to play regional, then England Colleges, and then got into the England under-20 squad. It all happened very fast. Back then, I was quite naïve; I was just quick … and that was all I had really, but I’m glad they took a chance on me. I’ve been in and out of various England talent set-ups, but I’m thoroughly enjoying playing club rugby – that’s enough pressure for me at the moment!”
The article I had seen, mentioned how Garnet had taken a step back from representative rugby whilst at university in Birmingham for the sake of both her physical and mental wellbeing. I am fascinating by all the different psychological aspects of sport, and hoped Garnet might reflect on that time…
“It definitely wasn’t an easy decision; it wasn’t an easy year,” came the frank reply. “I think people underestimate how hard it can be going off to university, leaving home for the first time is such a massive change in anyone’s life, and it certainly wasn’t something that came naturally to me.
“I found that first year quite stressful and basically just burnt out. I was trying to play university rugby, England under-20s said I had to play for a club, plus there were extra one-on-one coaching sessions, and I ended up exhausted and not enjoying my rugby.
“I did speak to the RFU [Rugby Football Union] and told them how I was feeling, and could I just play for the university; but that wasn’t an option. That’s when I took the decision not to re-trial for the under-20s and just enjoy my university rugby because that was the part I loved, and even now they were some of the best times I’ve had in the game.
“You live and breathe rugby and it’s like a proper family because you don’t have a job, so you spend so much time together. The standard maybe wasn’t the best, but I enjoyed it so much, and that was the main thing for me at that point; and it’s definitely a decision I don’t regret because I loved my rugby and made friends for life.
“Once I graduated - I did an extra year because I was enjoying my rugby so much! - I got a job and was doing shift work, but although I joined Sarries and was playing in the 2nd XV, I wouldn’t be able to make certain games or training because of the shifts, so I ended up playing some tag rugby, which I really enjoyed, and which took me to Australia for the World Cup. After that, I decided to take 15s a bit more seriously, and that’s when I joined Sarries properly. Rob Cain, who was coach at the time, took me under his wing and I had a good few years there. It was also during that time I got selected for the England 7s development squad.”
How many times did you play for the full international side?
“I played in two tournaments, and you probably get about five games per tournament.”
And lots of tries?!
“Not for my first cap [in 2017]. They put out a development squad and we got absolutely thrashed by all these amazing, well-drilled teams. I’m not sure who made the decision; it was like sending lambs to the slaughter if I’m honest, but I got my first cap, so I can’t complain!”
Back in 2012, Garnet had been a torch-bearer as the Olympic flame made its way through Devon before the London Games, and I was aware that taking part in a future Olympics was very much an ambition.
“Obviously it would have been lovely to have been considered for the Olympics but I felt like I did everything I could and it just didn’t work out that way and that’s okay. It was a real shame that after we got our caps, the 7s development budget was cut so there was no longer a development squad; and we all had to just go back to our clubs.
“I did play out in Kazan the following year, but by then the contracts had already been given out and most of the players were 20 or younger. Even in the development squad I was the oldest, which I found quite challenging, because we trained every other week, on a Tuesday or Thursday, during the day and then went to club training in the evening. Most of the squad were students so it was okay, but I was working full-time, so I used up all my annual leave on training, and didn’t have any holiday or time off. I was close to burn out again, and I definitely needed a break.”
Thankfully, Garnet is now in a position where she can fully enjoy her work and rugby-life balance, so the conversation moved on to how she views women’s rugby in general. Is the gap between the men’s and women’s game closing?
“Absolutely. Last weekend, the England game [against France] was on BBC, which is a first; normally they’re on the red button, or Sky, or something that’s not as accessible. Hopefully some people might have stumbled on the game, and enjoyed what they saw.
“And the standard of club rugby is certainly improving. I only had one season out, but I could tell the standard was a lot higher than when I’d last played. So things are definitely heading in the right direction.
“The gap is still wide though, especially with sponsorship – it just needs someone to take a chance on women’s rugby. There’s the argument that the game doesn’t attract as many spectators, but you’re not going to get the crowds if the game’s not visible. It’s a chicken and egg situation, but if we get the right investment, the sport is only going to grow.”
And other sports?
“Athletics is my favourite sport to watch. It was the sport I did before I played rugby. I’ve always been interested in running and obviously speed is a big part of my game … well, it used to be!
“Netball seems to be getting more coverage too, so I watched that for the first time the other week and really enjoyed it. I’ll definitely keep looking to see how the sport develops.”
Over the past few years, I’ve spent quite a lot of time watching club, Super League and international netball; and one thing that is noticeable about the elite athletes is how well they interact with the fans after a game; chatting, signing autographs and having photos taken with the young supporters … and possible players of the future. Does that happen in women’s club rugby too?
“At Sarries, the youngsters would come along to watch and stay behind to get an autograph or a photo, which was so lovely; and I really hope we can get back to that soon. I really want to inspire as many young girls as I can to take up rugby; I did an video interview with a local school last week, just to talk about my experiences and I hope that some of them think about giving rugby a try, especially as it’s not offered as much in schools as it probably should be.”
We’d chatted about the past and the present, but what does the future hold for this engaging young woman?
“Obviously I want to be able to play for as long as I can. I love being part of a team, I’m really enjoying my rugby at the moment, and that is something that’s so important to me.
“As far as the future goes, I’m quite flexible; I really enjoy my job, and certainly I haven’t made any solid plans about when I want to retire from rugby. My boyfriend’s just got a job down here and he’ll be moving down in January, which is really exciting, because that was like the missing piece in the puzzle.
“So really, I just want to play for as long as I can, well, as long as my body lets me; then go off and maybe think about starting a family… oh, and get a dog as well!”
That brought what I found a fascinating conversation to an end; and Garnet left to go to training in the knowledge that Exeter Chiefs’ women’s rugby squad now had one more supporter!
© Richard Kirby and Garnet Mackinder 2020
The exploits of Exeter’s men’s side have been widely reported: promoted into the Premiership in 2010, the club lifted both the Premiership and European Champions Cup earlier this year to round off a quite remarkable decade.
Now though, it is the turn of the women to begin a new chapter; and I was lucky enough to be offered not one but two interviews with members of a squad that has already recorded an historic first Allianz Premier 15 win over Worcester Warriors, followed by an incredibly long coach journey and second victory, away to the rebranded DMP Durham Sharks.
The first conversation is with the Chief’s Garnet Mackinder, who I would class as a “flying winger”, two words that certainly could not be used to describe my time on the rugby field as a schoolboy. My playing days came in multiples of five; I started as a second row (no.5) because I was tall; then moved to fly-half (no.10), apparently I had a reasonable right boot; before ending up at full back (no.15) because there was basically nowhere else to hide me…
Garnet, however, has already enjoyed a fantastic career, having represented Saracens and Wasps at club level, as well as earning international recognition with England 7s. First though, I wanted to ask Garnet how she felt things were progressing after just a few months with a brand new club.
She had scored twice in the Sharks win, the second try rounding off a move that started just outside the Chiefs’ own 22: full back Merryn Doidge throwing a sublime dummy that fooled the Sharks defence (as well as me watching the highlights), before passing to Garnet who outpaced four defenders for a brilliant score. Had those two wins changed the feel of the season?
“I fell for the dummy too!” Garnet laughed. “Yes they have definitely made a difference. We do have three tough games coming up, so I think it was important to get that boost from having those wins under our belt; and we can go into our next game [against Wasps] with a bit more confidence and hoping that we can cause a bit of an upset...
“We had actually lost by just two points to Bristol a few weeks earlier; we really felt we could have sneaked a victory there, so it was great to win two games on the bounce. Training’s going well and we’ve got a couple of weeks to prepare for Wasps, so we’re really pleased with how things are going.”
I had also seen the highlights of the Worcester win, which had included a try scored from a line-out close to the Warriors line. One of the trademarks of the men’s side is the ability to take line-out ball, create a rolling maul and power over the line – something I pointed out to Garnet in an early attempt to appear knowledgeable - and the women’s side’s decisive second-try was every bit as impressive.
The rise to domestic and European prominence of the men is a truly great sporting achievement, but does their success provide a boost to the women’s squad, does it bring some kind of pressure, or are the two sides seen as very much separate and distinct?
“It’s difficult at the moment, because of Covid, that we unfortunately haven’t had any real interaction with the men’s squad, but hopefully that will change in the future; we’ll get to know them and have some socials and things like that. That said, we’re still aiming to play a very similar style, and it’s good that you recognised that from our game-play [’Knowledgeable’ is my middle name!]. We’ve got some of the same set pieces and moves as the men; obviously making some changes if certain things don’t work in the women’s game, or for us as a squad.
“The majority of our tries have come from the forwards, from drive-overs, or pick and gos, so it’s something that certainly seems to be working for us; but it was great against Darlington to get the ball down the line and for the backs to score some tries as well. I had quite a few carries in the Worcester game, but didn’t quite get over the line, so I was pleased to take a couple of chances against Darlington.”
For the record, my middle name is actually John…
I was keen to find out how the squad approached the trip to Darlington. While Exeter were recording their win over Worcester the previous weekend, the Sharks were on the wrong end of a three-figure drubbing away to Wasps, and the combination of those results effectively meant that the newcomers were going into only their fifth-ever competitive game as favourites…
“Susie [Appleby] and Amy [Garnett], the coaches, stressed that we couldn’t afford to be complacent going into the game. The fact they hadn’t had positive results so far meant that they’d be wounded and come out all guns blazing; and that was definitely the case. It was also a new challenge for us; a seven-hour bus journey is always going to be difficult, and they opened the scoring as well, so it was always going to be a tough game.
“Having said that, we were a bit disappointed that we didn’t score a few more points in the second half, but we’re still finding our way at this level and the next few games will definitely show what we’re made of, and how mentally tough we are.”
One interesting and immediately obvious aspect of the Exeter roster is the wide variety of nationalities represented within the new squad: the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, USA and Canada all have players now plying their trade in south Devon. Creating a team from scratch that is capable of competing at the top-level of the domestic game is a huge challenge, but how have players from so many different countries blended together?
“It’s been strange, but because of Covid a lot of them didn’t come over until fairly close to the season starting,” Garnet admitted, “but we’ve got three Americans, a few Canadians and a Japanese girl, as well as players from Europe, so the squad is really diverse; and it’s great to have people who play in different ways trying to gel together, especially as it was all fairly last-minute.
“The American girls only had one or two training sessions before the season started, so we’re still coming together and haven’t quite reached our potential yet; but we’re getting there and hopefully the next few games will be when we show everyone how far we’ve come…
“That said it’s great having all the different personalities and we’re improving with every game. I just wish we could have more socials together and really get to know each other a bit more; but I’m sure that will happen.”
Garnet had mentioned Covid, a word that crops up in conversation all too often these days; but has the presence of the virus had any major impact on the players – other than obviously denying the squad the chance to perform in front of a crowd on match days?
“We have temperature checks before training and matches, and have to fill out questionnaires about whether we’ve had any symptoms. We’ve all just been told to be sensible, and to be fair, there’s not really much we can do during lockdown anyway!
“Quite a few of us actually live together, Garnet added. “I live with two of the squad, and there are quite a few rugby houses around the city, so that helps us stick together and not get too lonely during lockdown.”
But isn’t Exeter Garnet’s home city?
“It is, and my mum’s still here; but I don’t think she would want me moving back in at my age!” she chuckled. “It’s great having her and the dogs close by so I can see her regularly.”
“The club has been great with organising accommodation, so I’m actually renting Ollie Devoto’s house; the Canadians are in a house together, and a couple of the girls are waiting for their house to be ready and are living with a family at the moment … and having a lovely meal cooked for them every evening as well!”
The next logical question was about part- and full-time athletes, and the balance between work and playing elite sport. The truth is, I didn’t ask the question until later in our chat, but thanks to the miracle of ‘cut and paste’, everything now flows almost seamlessly…
“I’m actually in the minority as a part-time rugby player,” Garnet explained. “The majority of the girls are on a full-time programme, which is brilliant. Again, I’ve never been at a club where there have been opportunities like that; for instance, the Academy girls train full-time then I think they go to college one day a week, and get paid by the club. Linde [van der Velden] will tell you more about her situation, but I believe the club got her a part-time job in architecture, which is amazing; and I live with Kate Zackary, who’s from the America; she’s still working on their time as well as playing rugby, so she’ll often be up until really late, which certainly isn’t easy. So yes, we’re all in slightly different situations…
“I think if I was 18, I would have loved to be on a full-time programme, but because I guess I’m coming towards the end of my rugby career, I’m really happy with where I am professionally, and I didn’t want to lose that. The balance works really well; there’s flexibility in my role with Sport England, I can work from home, and I live ten minutes from the club at the moment; so getting to training is never a problem.
“We get match fees and food after training, so it’s definitely getting more professional; everything about Exeter is great, things are going well on and off the pitch, and I feel very fortunate … but I still wish I was 18 again!”
Is the situation a reflection of Exeter Chiefs, or more the sport in general?
“I think it’s a bit of both. I was at Sarries [Saracens] maybe four years ago now; times have definitely changed and I’m sure it’s different now to when I was there. It’s always going to be difficult for Wasps, because they’re still based in London and not in Coventry, so they don’t have the same level of facilities. They’re as professional as they possibly can be, but the club can’t really move up to Coventry, because most of the girls live and work in London; but Exeter have been brilliant and so supportive – not just the club, but the local people as well.
“It’s been really positive on social media with people asking how they can get to see the games and when will they be able to come and watch us,” Garnet continued, “and I’m hoping that when the rules change, we’ll get quite a decent number of spectators coming to the games.
“In the past, the crowds haven’t been all that great; it’s often close family and friends and the total will be in the hundreds. I think Harlequins have had a crowd of around 1,500 but that was for a big game and a bit of a one-off; but I’m hoping that because everybody loves rugby down here that we’ll get quite a few people coming along, especially as they’ve not been able to watch any live rugby for such a long time.”
I’m sure the powers-that-be at Exeter will find ways to encourage local fans to come along at watch the women’s squad in good numbers when the opportunity finally presents itself; but I wondered if a double-header with the men might be one way of boosting attendance and creating a positive atmosphere in which to perform. I thought it was a good question…
“In my experience double-headers haven’t quite worked.”
I was wrong…
“In fairness, when we had them at Wasps and Sarries, we always played after the men,” Garnet explained. “People just want to get home and it’s a bit depressing seeing people leaving while you’re doing your warm-up.
“Logistically it can be difficult because not that many stadiums have the space for two teams to change and warm-up; but it might be possible at Sandy Park because we’ve got the top pitch where we could be warming up and go straight onto the pitch; and the top pitch has changing rooms as well, so I suppose it might be possible.
“The problem if we played first would be that the men would want to warm-up on the main pitch, and would spectators be willing to come along early and then wait for the men to go through their pre-match preparations? It’s difficult to know which way would work. Obviously the aim is to have our own match days, but the occasional double-header would be exciting.”
Going back to the start of Garnet’s rugby career, I had read that she’d made rapid progress once she’d found a love of the game. Garnet nodded.
“A coach came into school when I was in my last year, and ran a taster session. I really enjoyed it, so I joined a local club, Exeter Saracens in the under-18s; then I went on to play regional, then England Colleges, and then got into the England under-20 squad. It all happened very fast. Back then, I was quite naïve; I was just quick … and that was all I had really, but I’m glad they took a chance on me. I’ve been in and out of various England talent set-ups, but I’m thoroughly enjoying playing club rugby – that’s enough pressure for me at the moment!”
The article I had seen, mentioned how Garnet had taken a step back from representative rugby whilst at university in Birmingham for the sake of both her physical and mental wellbeing. I am fascinating by all the different psychological aspects of sport, and hoped Garnet might reflect on that time…
“It definitely wasn’t an easy decision; it wasn’t an easy year,” came the frank reply. “I think people underestimate how hard it can be going off to university, leaving home for the first time is such a massive change in anyone’s life, and it certainly wasn’t something that came naturally to me.
“I found that first year quite stressful and basically just burnt out. I was trying to play university rugby, England under-20s said I had to play for a club, plus there were extra one-on-one coaching sessions, and I ended up exhausted and not enjoying my rugby.
“I did speak to the RFU [Rugby Football Union] and told them how I was feeling, and could I just play for the university; but that wasn’t an option. That’s when I took the decision not to re-trial for the under-20s and just enjoy my university rugby because that was the part I loved, and even now they were some of the best times I’ve had in the game.
“You live and breathe rugby and it’s like a proper family because you don’t have a job, so you spend so much time together. The standard maybe wasn’t the best, but I enjoyed it so much, and that was the main thing for me at that point; and it’s definitely a decision I don’t regret because I loved my rugby and made friends for life.
“Once I graduated - I did an extra year because I was enjoying my rugby so much! - I got a job and was doing shift work, but although I joined Sarries and was playing in the 2nd XV, I wouldn’t be able to make certain games or training because of the shifts, so I ended up playing some tag rugby, which I really enjoyed, and which took me to Australia for the World Cup. After that, I decided to take 15s a bit more seriously, and that’s when I joined Sarries properly. Rob Cain, who was coach at the time, took me under his wing and I had a good few years there. It was also during that time I got selected for the England 7s development squad.”
How many times did you play for the full international side?
“I played in two tournaments, and you probably get about five games per tournament.”
And lots of tries?!
“Not for my first cap [in 2017]. They put out a development squad and we got absolutely thrashed by all these amazing, well-drilled teams. I’m not sure who made the decision; it was like sending lambs to the slaughter if I’m honest, but I got my first cap, so I can’t complain!”
Back in 2012, Garnet had been a torch-bearer as the Olympic flame made its way through Devon before the London Games, and I was aware that taking part in a future Olympics was very much an ambition.
“Obviously it would have been lovely to have been considered for the Olympics but I felt like I did everything I could and it just didn’t work out that way and that’s okay. It was a real shame that after we got our caps, the 7s development budget was cut so there was no longer a development squad; and we all had to just go back to our clubs.
“I did play out in Kazan the following year, but by then the contracts had already been given out and most of the players were 20 or younger. Even in the development squad I was the oldest, which I found quite challenging, because we trained every other week, on a Tuesday or Thursday, during the day and then went to club training in the evening. Most of the squad were students so it was okay, but I was working full-time, so I used up all my annual leave on training, and didn’t have any holiday or time off. I was close to burn out again, and I definitely needed a break.”
Thankfully, Garnet is now in a position where she can fully enjoy her work and rugby-life balance, so the conversation moved on to how she views women’s rugby in general. Is the gap between the men’s and women’s game closing?
“Absolutely. Last weekend, the England game [against France] was on BBC, which is a first; normally they’re on the red button, or Sky, or something that’s not as accessible. Hopefully some people might have stumbled on the game, and enjoyed what they saw.
“And the standard of club rugby is certainly improving. I only had one season out, but I could tell the standard was a lot higher than when I’d last played. So things are definitely heading in the right direction.
“The gap is still wide though, especially with sponsorship – it just needs someone to take a chance on women’s rugby. There’s the argument that the game doesn’t attract as many spectators, but you’re not going to get the crowds if the game’s not visible. It’s a chicken and egg situation, but if we get the right investment, the sport is only going to grow.”
And other sports?
“Athletics is my favourite sport to watch. It was the sport I did before I played rugby. I’ve always been interested in running and obviously speed is a big part of my game … well, it used to be!
“Netball seems to be getting more coverage too, so I watched that for the first time the other week and really enjoyed it. I’ll definitely keep looking to see how the sport develops.”
Over the past few years, I’ve spent quite a lot of time watching club, Super League and international netball; and one thing that is noticeable about the elite athletes is how well they interact with the fans after a game; chatting, signing autographs and having photos taken with the young supporters … and possible players of the future. Does that happen in women’s club rugby too?
“At Sarries, the youngsters would come along to watch and stay behind to get an autograph or a photo, which was so lovely; and I really hope we can get back to that soon. I really want to inspire as many young girls as I can to take up rugby; I did an video interview with a local school last week, just to talk about my experiences and I hope that some of them think about giving rugby a try, especially as it’s not offered as much in schools as it probably should be.”
We’d chatted about the past and the present, but what does the future hold for this engaging young woman?
“Obviously I want to be able to play for as long as I can. I love being part of a team, I’m really enjoying my rugby at the moment, and that is something that’s so important to me.
“As far as the future goes, I’m quite flexible; I really enjoy my job, and certainly I haven’t made any solid plans about when I want to retire from rugby. My boyfriend’s just got a job down here and he’ll be moving down in January, which is really exciting, because that was like the missing piece in the puzzle.
“So really, I just want to play for as long as I can, well, as long as my body lets me; then go off and maybe think about starting a family… oh, and get a dog as well!”
That brought what I found a fascinating conversation to an end; and Garnet left to go to training in the knowledge that Exeter Chiefs’ women’s rugby squad now had one more supporter!
© Richard Kirby and Garnet Mackinder 2020