World Mental Health Day - COVID and mental health

COVID has impacted so many of us around the world and it continues to do so. Here, on this World Mental Health Day, rugby playing Ashleigh Rollins shares how it has impacted her mental health and how sport, and in particular, rugby, helped her. Thank you Ashleigh.

Rugby Union first came into my life in 2016, where I found myself completely absorbed by the sport. I began playing in secondary school, where I then started playing for South Molton RFC, a club which taught me everything I have to know within rugby.

In my first season I won coaches player, something which was hard to come across with the talent that we had in the team. I continued playing for South Molton for years, going up through the age groups and working on skills and techniques in order to become the best player I could be. Then 2020, I was sent to trial for Devon County, in which I was selected to represent the county in 3 tournaments in the South West, however the third was cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic. Representing my county in rugby was one of the proudest moments of my life, because I knew I had worked so hard to get myself in the position I was in.

The pandemic took a lot from me in terms of my sporting life. I was no longer able to relive my stress through rugby, and therefore I struggled massively with mental health and this led to me losing a love for rugby, something that I had never in years imagined happening. In the 2020-21 season, I barely played any rugby due to the ongoing pandemic, and this meant that fitness levels were not up to the best of standards.

At the beginning of the 2021-22 season, my first coach hung up his boots and this left my team to crumble, meaning I had to coach myself for a majority of the season. In October 2021, I had an unfortunate spell of events, damaging tissue in my hip meaning my movement was limited, and then getting covid-19 which then meant I struggled with long covid for months after. This was the season I then partially shifted over to Bideford RFC, my current place of playing. They welcomed me with open arms and always pushed me to do my best.

In May 2022, I was scrolling through social media when I came across an advert for a rugby league team, Tarka Storm, looking to begin a women’s team, so myself and some friends went down to train, where they welcomed us and taught us the rules and laws of rugby league. This is a sport which mostly runs over the summer months, so I found it as a way of getting preseason fitness, preparing for the next season of rugby union. The coaches were all amazing and never hesitated when we had any questions.

I found the experience so enlightening, having so much fun week in, week out, because you are constantly learning and adapting to the rules that are in league in comparison to those in rugby union. It’s an amazing sport, one in which I will be playing next year should the opportunity arise. I encourage everyone to get involved in this amazing sport.