Enniskillen rugby player Kathryn Dane has been selected in the Ireland Under-9 Girls 7s training squad ahead of the Sainsbury’s 2014 School Games, to be held in Manchester in September. The scrum-half is one of four Ulster players to be included in the initial squad.
Kathryn began playing rugby at the age of nine, just a stone’s throw away from her house, at the Enniskillen Rugby Club and despite being the only girl at mini rugby the boys and the coaches always treated her as one of the team. She hasn’t looked back since and has played in four Ulster Schools Cup finals with Enniskillen Collegiate (winning three) and this year helped Enniskillen ladies win the Ulster Girls Under-18 Cup.
Indeed rugby is not the only sport in which Kathryn excels as she also plays football for Fermanagh Mallards and has represented Northern Ireland at Under-19 level.
To achieve her selection in the Irish sevens rugby squad Kathryn had to go to trials first in Portadown and then in Dublin. She expressed her delight at her name being included after all the hard work.
“It’s brilliant, I didn’t really hear much about it, but it was well publicised on the internet and it’s just fantastic.”
In the future 17-year-old Kathryn would like to do medicine at university, but hopes sport remains a big part of her life.
“With women’s sport it’s very hard to be professional, you can’t really do it and it alone. I would quite like to do medicine and if I could keep the sport on the side that would be great. I would love to keep it on as long as I can.”
And asked if rugby or football is her favourite the Collegiate student remained diplomatic.
“I better not say, but I would watch more rugby than football on TV. I enjoy them both.”
As part of her committments to the Irish Under-19 squad Kathryn is away on a residential training camp this weekend in Dublin, after which the final squad for the 2014 School Games will be announced.