As part of Women and Girls in Sport Month for Rugby Southland, we are proud to shine a spotlight on Jane Cowie, a girls rugby coach at Central Southland College who has dedicated her time to developing and promoting girls rugby.

Jane's role within Southland Rugby involves coaching and helping to run the girls rugby programme at Central Southland College in Winton. She also coaches across all age groups and worked with Mark Tree last year coaching the Southland U16 Girls Rep team. Furthermore, when her boys were at Limehills, she coached their teams from Rippa through to A Grade.

One of Jane's rugby highlights was when she started the Waimate High School girls rugby programme back in 1993 as a she was a first-year teacher. There was a lot of resistance at the time, but by the time she left at the end of 1995, there were two teams, and they had won the South Canterbury comp. Her fondest memory was seeing all the parents on the sideline for the final, many of whom had signed a petition at the start to stop girls rugby going ahead.

What makes rugby in Southland special, according to Jane, is the dedicated people on the ground who work tirelessly to ensure that the kids get the best opportunities and experiences. Southland has a great base of people who give up their time to help the kids, and that is something that Jane truly appreciates.

As a female in rugby, Jane has found unique opportunities to help develop and promote the sport. She has seen first-hand how the pathways for females have become clearer over the years, and how the supports have been put in place for player, coach and referee development. Jane is excited about the creation of new roles within the rugby industry, and how far things have come since she played her first game at 15 in the 80's.

Jane stays involved in rugby because she loves working with kids, and rugby brings out the best in the players, just like any other team sport. Girls rugby, in particular, is fantastic to be involved with because there are no egos, parents are super-supportive, and the people working in this area at all levels are so positive and pro-active. Seeing the status of women's rugby growing over the years is also a great incentive to keep involved - Jane is sure that there are more Black Ferns in the making at CSC!

Lastly, if Jane could change one rule in rugby, she would extend the off-side line from the hind-most foot to one metre. This would allow for more expansive ball play and ingenuity, something that the current ruling often stymies.

We are lucky to have dedicated people like Jane Cowie in our rugby community, who are passionate about developing and promoting the sport for all genders and ages. Her hard work and dedication have made a positive impact on many players' lives, and we are grateful for her contributions to the sport.

Article added: Friday 19 May 2023