Hornby return to the Women’s game with the introduction of the new Premier Reserve grade.

It’s been over a decade, but Hornby will once again field a Women’s side, with a team entered in the brand-new Women’s Premier Reserve grade.  

One of the current players who was instrumental in the creation of the side was Haylee Gillan, a former Hornby junior whose family has a rich history with the club. Keen to play for Hornby once again, it was a drive to get Hornby a team once again. 

“I had played for school over the last few years and a lot of my teammates had gone on and played for Prebbleton, but I really wanted to get back to rugby and get a team back for Hornby and I thought we should try really hard to bring one back.” Gillan said.  

Through her hard work and dedication, plus the helping hand of a couple of other experienced players, Hornby have been able to reintroduce their women’s side, with the majority of players new to the game of rugby.  

“We’ve been able to get together a great bunch of girls and we’ve got a great environment to learn and grow. It’s been great that everyone is comfortable to try it out, and we’ve even got a couple of mums who are giving it a go too, so it’s really cool to see them be role models to their kids too.” said Gillan.  

The drive of Gillan and Hornby to get a team back together was even too much for her uncle Rowan Gillan, who will coach the side in 2022.  

“Haylee came to me to help out with the side and I ummed and ahhed over it, but it’s certainly a great opportunity to be involved and it’s exciting to be a part of the team here at Hornby once again. Being involved with this group of ladies has been a great learning curve for me and it’s been so rewarding to see the leaps and strides they have taken in the last few weeks.” Rowan Gillan said.  

The new Premier Reserve grade will see five teams compete this season, with Hornby joined by High School Old Boys’, University, Suburbs and Geraldine, who will be Hornby’s hosts on Saturday, giving the new side a good roadie to start the season as they return to the women’s competition.