Jade Konkel’s Interview continues….
Of the various sports you have been involved in, and had a fair bit of success with, why settle on rugby?
As I said above, my parents were involved in rugby as were my brothers. I loved the game. The physicality aspect especially; the thumping tackles and the big ball carries. It is a sport like no other. One where you have to really depend on your team mates to be there to support from a carry, or you need to protect your team mates, run dummy lines, protect the ball, latch on for a powerful carry, one goes high one low in a tackle etc. – it is so team orientated and when you’re are on the pitch you have a purpose – a family to look out for and to play for just like you do off the pitch. Everything about the game and the versatile characteristics and physicalities of people playing. So many different positions with each one bringing a vital part to the game.
27 International caps and now a Professional contract. Dream come true?
Dream come true 100%. But on saying that… it was a very far away dream in the back of my mind. I hadn’t ever thought it was possible so I guess you couldn’t fully set your sights on that being the initial dream but it shows the power of commitment and hard work. It gives you a belief that you can keep going, keep improving and also build a pathway for others following in your footsteps.
It was fantastic to be given a contract and even better with the fact it’s building a pathway for the growth of women’s rugby and proves that there is a path to take and there will be many more to follow.
It was always really tough to balance work, university and training along with life in general. My life, every hour of the week would be written down in a colour coded timetable planning out what I have where so I could get the most out of my week. It was tough but it was all that we knew. We all knew that if we wanted to play at the highest level then we had to make it work. The goal at the end of the day is to be the best possible player you can be for your country so you make choices to get closer to reaching this everyday – the professional performance lifestyle in day to day living.
How do you see the coming year unfolding? What are your aspirations?
Being a part of LMRCV so far has been brilliant. The intensity is high and the game pace is fast. I’d love if we, as a team, won the Top 8 Championship. It will be a lot of hard work but certainly a great goal to have in mind for the season with the understanding of taking each game at a time. When I fly back for Scotland duty, I want to be in best position I’ve been in with my career to date. I want to make a big impact for the Thistle and to build on our success as a team from the 6 Nations 2017 4th place finish.
And finally, what’s it like living and communicating in another language?
It is very difficult but that is all part of the exciting experience. The new language, culture and playing experience. Our team mates have been so helpful, taking the time to explain lots of things during training sessions and helping us learn phrases off the pitch. They have certainly been one of the biggest reasons so far of how happy I am to play for this team. The atmosphere is great and the importance of the LMRCV badge and what is on the front of the jersey is shared and everyone plays for each other. I’m soft at heart and the emotions that go into playing in this team is right up my street especially alongside a brilliant group of people and players.
Many thanks to Jade for taking the time to do this. Hopefully, she will achieve all she sets out to do and we wish her well.
