Donna Kennedy
Scotland’s most- capped player t alks f ear, f ir st s and f ull-time jobs
“My international playing career spanned 1993 to 2010, so it was quite a journey. During that time there were a lot of law changes, so you had to adapt and reinvent yourself. It was also about staying up with the pace of the game from a fitness point of view and staying relevant as a player.”
“I held a full-time job while playing and my whole career has been in the veterinary sector. I started as a nurse, then moved to the non-clinical side and my current role is regional director for Vets Now.”
“Rugby is my passion. I started coaching a touch team in Pershore and Jo Yapp has got me in to do a few sessions at Worcester. Once we get through Covid, I’ll also help out with the Worcester amateur team.”
“When I stopped playing I lost a huge amount of my identity, I had a massive void in my life. It affected me quite badly and I suffered depression. I saw a sports psychologist in 2015 – that definitely helped.”
“I’d like to have met Mother Teresa. She knew there were unkind people, who do bad things, but you can be kind to everyone. She came with kindness.”
“Recently I was reading about explorer Miles Hilton-Barber, who is blind. He changed his attitude towards blindness aged 50 and said: ‘Fear is false evidence appearing real’. That resonated with me and I don’t want anything to stop me.”
“My rugby highlight is the Grand Slam in 1998. We beat England at Stewart’s Melville to win it – and it’s the only Grand Slam the women’s team have won to this day. Hopefully the current Scotland team do the same in the next few years.”
“I do a lot of stuff for the Grace Kelly Ladybird Trust. This year I’m doing a challenge every month – January I ran every day, February was a target of 280k steps and I did 390k, March I did 100 sit-ups and 100 press-ups every day.”
“I’m very proud that I was the first Scotland player and the first woman to win 100 caps. Most records (she has 115 caps) are there to be broken, but I’ll always be the first.”
“I’ll never forget John Smit sitting on my sofa telling me about the Rugby Centurions Foundation they wanted to get off the ground. It’s only recently that I’ve started to recognise what I’ve done and tell my story. It’s not about me, it’s how my journey can help others.”