Occupation: Teacher
Position: Prop
What other sports have you participated in?
I've been involved in individual sports all my life before i picked up rugby. For a good decade, I competed in sprint kayaking for my school as well as the nation. I also played tennis which i represented my school(NIE) as well as my hostel in the inter- hall games.
How did you come to play the game?
For the longest time, I have always wanted to try my hands at contact rugby and was really excited when i found out my uni classmate Tao Jing is actually a player herself. However, i didn't pick up the sport until 3 years later due to my commitments in kayaking. Last year, a few of my classmates pulled me into the NTU women's contact rugby team and since then i have never looked back!
What do you like about rugby and how is it different from previous sport?
I feel that the pull of rugby is that it is very multi faceted and challenging as it requires the player to multi task on so many levels in order to play the game well. You have to be fast, agile, strong and yet make decisions and communicate with your teamates for 80 long minutes. Of course, learning to work with 14 other people was also quite a stark contrast to all the other individual sports that i have competed in. I feel that with every training I attend and every game I play, I learn a new thing. You never stop learning in this game!
Do you face any opposition from your family?
My parents are quite concerned with how physical the game can be and they are always looking out for new bruises, cuts or injuries that I may get with each game that I play. But i have assured them that we are taught to play the game as safely as possible to reduce injuries as(i quote my teammate Phin) "our life span in rugby is as long as we can stay injury free".
How you find the Standard Chartered National Ruby Academy program?
I think the academy program is an awesome avenue for developing players to hone and improve their skills at a more intense level in order to better our game. The program is very extensive as we were given the opportunities to build our skills from the basics all the way to the more complicated game plays. I think the academy program is very good for the local rugby scene as the development better players would also lead to better rugby and eventually the growth of the game in the country.
What's one thing you've learnt about yourself through playing the sport so far?
I've learnt so many things! But if I have to name one, I think it would be how much stronger(mentally and physically) I can become with the support of my teammates. I feel that one thing I struggle with the most in this game is confidence and that is where my teammates have helped me so much with. Whenever I feel myself closing in and losing focus, a pat on the shoulder, a smack on the butt with a "I've got your back Jacq!" can do miracles! Rugby is as much of a mental game as it can be physical and I feel that in fact, the mental barrier is the tougher nut to crack. As cliche as it may be, I think my coach Serena's favourite quote from Ghandi pretty sums up what I have learnt and experienced so far "Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an INDOMITABLE WILL."
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