Mollie has Scots in sights
Former Maidstone and Aylesford rugby player Mollie Wilkinson has earned a call-up for the Women’s Six Nations. Wilkinson is in the Wales squad who start their campaign against Scotland at Cardiff Arms Park this Saturday.
The 20-year-old qualifies for Wales through mum Paula and came to the coaches’ attention while playing for Brython Thunder in the Celtic Challenge tournament in January. International recognition has come sooner than anticipated for the fly-half and she’s determined to enjoy the experience. “I wasn’t expecting it,” said Wilkinson, a student at Bath University.
“The Celtic Challenge is all about developing the pathway for Welsh women, Irish women and Scottish women so they can compete with England, effectively.
“We knew the coaches were watching because we had a few full-time Welsh internationals playing in our team.
“For me, I was thinking I’m only 20, it’s not going to happen for me this year but they might see who I am and keep an eye on me.
“What I didn’t expect was to go straight into the Welsh squad. “Any game time would be massive. I’m not expecting to play loads but as a development thing it’s so cool to be in the environment.”
Wilkinson, who plays for Bristol Bears, linked up with her international team-mates at training last week.
“It’s been really good,” she said. “It was quite overwhelming and I probably looked a bit lost for the first few days but I got into it and was holding my own, I suppose.”
England - Wales’ second opponents in Bristol on March 30 - and France are the teams to beat in the Six Nations.
But Welsh rugby is in a good place and the girls are confident of a strong campaign.
“The last couple of seasons they’ve finished third, behind England and France,” said Wilkinson.
“We want to do as well as we can but the minimum now is third. We want to push to beat England and France and we’re growing as a team. If you look at the age range, there’s experience dotted around but it’s quite a young team and we’re getting closer.
“It’s getting more and more competitive and with other nations going professional, it’s going to be the most competitive out of any, this Six Nations. “Playing England second, in Bristol, is going to be fun for me because it’s a home from home. “Even if I’m not involved, where I’m at Bath University, loads of my friends have said they’re going to come and watch.”
Wilkinson’s rugby roots go back to Maidstone, where she started as a five-year-old playing alongside brother Jake. Living near The Mote, her dad Ian played for Maidstone while Jake has recently broken into the 1st XV.
With no girls’ team, she moved to Aylesford aged 12, with those formative years helping her to become the player she is today.
“With the boys at Maidstone, it was about enjoying the game and making friends,” she said. “I still talk to quite a few of the boys now and see their dads, who coached us.
“At Aylesford, as you get older, rugby gets a bit more serious and it was all about learning.
“I played all the way through the girls’ section and played
Kent under-15s and under-18s and then went through Centres of Excellence.
“I was at Richmond, but they got relegated, so I moved across to Wasps and that’s where I got picked up for Bristol Bears last season.”