GREENOCK Wanderers will break with tradition later this month when they field their first-ever ladies’ rugby team during their celebratory rugby festival weekend to commemorate the club’s 140th anniversary.

Ladies’ rugby has taken off big time in Scotland and Wanderers are the latest club side to identify the benefits of including the ‘fair sex’ as part of their rugby operation.

The Ladies XV will play an exhibition match immediately before the final of the club’s seven’s tournament on Saturday 26 April and it will be an historic moment for Wanderers who are committed to the Scottish Government’s inclusive message of ‘sport for all’.

The hard work has been ongoing behind the scenes for several months now and was driven by the enthusiasm and boundless energy of player Caitlyn Haldane, whose input has been a significant factor in getting the initiative to its current stage.

She raised the possibility of forming a ladies’ rugby team at the club and the idea was quickly seized upon by the committee and Inverclyde’s local rugby development officer and current Wanderers club captain Brendan McGroarty.

The project has enjoyed great support from club officials and popular local rugby referee John McIntyre will act as co-ordinator of the ladies’ side and will be responsible for team management and coaching as the initiative develops.

Wanderers Ladies train once a week at Fort Matilda and with numbers gradually increasing the portents are good that a team can be sustained locally over the next few seasons. As with any new enterprise, the initial hurdle will be to establish the ladies’ team and if that can be done there is confidence at Wanderers that the enthusiasm currently evident will self-perpetuate, leading to local women joining the club.

In February McGroarty, as part of his remit of growing the game at a local level, arranged for seven of the Wanderers’ ladies to attend a rugby skills session at Old Anniesland.

The feedback was positive and to the effect that they performed well and were completely comfortable in the coaching environment which included rubbing shoulders with a number of players who had been playing the game for several years.

Current leading lights amongst the squad are Caitlyn Haldane, Steph’ Ward, Geraldine McGroarty, Seonaid Knox, Kirsty McGlynn, Kayleigh Stewart, Hannah Mutton, Catriona Cowan and Erin Haldane and the early signs are that there is real potential and good levels of fitness, pace and ability within the group.

At present, women’s rugby in Scotland has five leagues operating and the top club side in the land is Hillhead/Jordanhill, closely followed by Murrayfield Wanderers. Hillhead Women won the Scottish Premier League this season with a perfect 12 victories from 12 games. They were however knocked out of the national cup competition by Murrayfield, who will contest the final on 19 April against Melrose.

The thoughts of glory and silverware are a distant ambition at present down Fort Matilda way but the club are committed to giving women’s rugby every opportunity to gain a foothold in the area and will make the necessary investment to support the start up costs of the venture.

Vice-president Steven Haldane said: “I have a vested interest in the initiative because two of my daughters, Caitlyn and Erin, are rugby enthusiasts and are part of the squad.

“Numbers are growing and we are hopeful of getting sufficient players available to arrange some fixtures for next season. Our primary objective is to eventually enter the league set-up, but we will make assessments regarding the way forward as and when those opportunities arise.” Wanderers Ladies is open to the public and any local women who wish to get involved should call Brendan McGroarty on 07528 693518. The ladies train at Fort Matilda every Wednesday night for an hour from 7pm and the sessions are split between fitness and developing rugby skills.

For those in search of rugby action tomorrow, the reserve side had hoped to complete their RBS Reserve League West Division One campaign with a home game against Hillhead/Jordanhill but that match is now in jeopardy owing to the Glasgow side having a fixture backlog.

Efforts will be made to secure a friendly instead but supporters are asked to check the club website before travelling in case those efforts prove fruitless.

Wanderers jumped to second place in the league last week with a resounding 64-7 victory over Dalziel and will be looking to finish their programme with another victory when a suitable date is identified for the Hillhead match.

Marr have already secured the championship but no promotion or relegation this season due to league reconstruction means that the competition will be re-run next term.

Wanderers are sponsored by Texas Instruments.