Preview: First Women's Test-Match in German-Speaking Switzerland on March 8th in Zug
On Saturday, March 8th, the Women's National Team will face Finland in Unterägeri. It is the first time that a Women's RUgby National Team Match takes place in the German-Speaking part of Switzerland. The Match against Finland is also intended as a PR-Initiative, to help make more women aware of the sport of rugby.
Women and Rugby? Sounds quite strange. After all, rugby is known to be one of the toughest sports in the world. "Bruises are part of the game.The fascinating thing is, that rugby is a real team sport. In a sport where 15 players from each side fight for a ball, it is unlikely for one player to really make or break a game, the way it sometimes happens in football", says Carolin Reischauer, openside flanker of the Swiss National Team. "in addition, it is fantastic that in rugby there is a place for all kinds of athletes, whether they are small and quick or big and strong. There is a position for every woman on a rugby team".
Approximately 200 women play rugby in Switzerland, in 6 different teams. In 2011, the Swiss Women's National Team played its first Match against Belgium, which it won 15-7. Since then, the women's team has played a total of 5 international games, and has won four of them, and lost only one. The team is looking to fight for a place among the top 15 teams in Europe in the near future. That's a very ambitious goal, which the programme hopes to achieve through youth development. In Suisse Romande and in the Bern Region there are already a couple of pilot Projects up and running. In central Switerland the Project "RUGBY4SCHOOL" is also trying to fight for acceptance of rugby for girls in schools.
The fact that Swiss Rugby in general and the Women's National Team in particular have to function on a very small budget can also be seen through the statement of goals by the FSR for the women's rugby programme: one of the goals is to one day get to the point where players won't have to pay for travel and equipment by themselves.
