We’re delighted to announce that former Scotland Women player, Sarah Law, has joined The Hearts and Balls Charitable Trust as an ambassador.
Having started her rugby journey, aged five, at Penicuik Rugby Club, Sarah went on to amass over fifty caps for Scotland, captained the winning 2017 University of Edinburgh side in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Championship and, famously, nailed a last-minute conversion against Ireland in 2021 to put Scotland through to the Rugby World Cup qualification final. After retiring earlier this year, she was lured back for a last hurrah to don the red socks of Penicuik for the Barbarians against South Africa in Cape Town in September.
“The Barbarians trip was truly incredible and an experience that I felt very lucky to have,” she enthuses. “I got the phone call only a few weeks after I’d finished up with Sale [club] and I was doing bits of running at the time so felt I was still in a good enough place to be able to say ‘Yes’.
“We were only out in South Africa for five days by the time we got there,” she continues, “so there was a lot to cram in. But there were so many moments where I just thought ‘this is what rugby is all about and it’s so special’ – a truly unforgettable week.”
Equally special, around the same time, was the invitation to become an ambassador for Hearts and Balls.
“I’d heard bits about Hearts and Balls over the years I’ve been involved in the game,” she says. “My younger sister [Rachel] has been involved with the [Hearts + Balls Mighty Bovs] Women’s sevens team over the last few seasons, so it has become a charity that we’ve learnt a bit more about and are keen to support.”
So what does Sarah think she can bring to the role of ambassador, and what does helping rugby to help its own mean to her?
“Rugby has been my everything,” she admits, “and I feel very fortunate to have played the game for so long. I know that I am a better person for having been brought up with rugby values and a community around me.
“I think it’s important that the rugby family, support and network extends beyond the set of current players who take the field at the weekend but to everyone who is and has been part of the game – to me it’s important that the rugby community always feels like a home.”
On the subject of support, Sarah knows she has benefited hugely from having her family by her side throughout her rugby journey.
“My family have been hugely supportive throughout my rugby career,” she underlines. “I realise how lucky I was to have family who encouraged me to see how far I could go and facilitated me doing that. They’ve travelled the world with me and it’s been wonderful to have them there through the highs and the lows of my career.
“One of the positives of retirement has been having some free time on the weekend – it’s been nice to be on the sideline for my sister for a change after so many years of us being at different rugby pitches in different parts of the world!”
