The influence of the University of Chichester will feature strongly on the opening weekend of the Women’s Six Nations rugby tournament.
Wales will meet England in Cross Keys, near Newport, on 6 February, and University alumni will find themselves coming head-to-head in the match.
Ashley Rowlands, who graduated in 2008 as a qualified PE teacher, is one of nine uncapped players who have been called up to the Wales squad for the tournament, and is straight into the starting line-up in the lock position.
When she takes to the field on Sunday, she is likely to face her Wasps team-mate Claire Purdy as well as Emma Croker (Richmond), who have been selected for the England squad which has retained many of the players that featured in last September’s World Cup final defeat against New Zealand.
Claire is a Sports Studies and Sports Management graduate from 2001, while Emma qualified as a PE teacher three years earlier than Ashley. She also has her sights set on sporting success in another field – after becoming England weightlifting champion, her next target is to represent Great Britain in the London 2012 Olympics.
Talking about how she got into the game, Ashley said: “When I joined the University, I was a hockey player, and only tried rugby in my second year because it was part of my course. I was then asked to play in a full game for the University because the squad was short on numbers, and I scored two tries, and my career has built from there.
“The University coach Andy Turner was a real inspiration to me, and encouraged me to go for county and regional trials, where I met other players and coaches that gave me the opportunity to play at club, and now international, level.”
Dr Sarah Gilroy, Executive Dean at the University of Chichester, said: “To have University alumni taking part in this match on opposite sides is certainly going to add to the spice of the game. With Ashley winning her first cap at the weekend, she joins a growing list of students from the University who have gone on to win international honours in their respective sports, and they are all an inspiration to others wanting to succeed in sport.”
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