A rising star, 25-year-old rugby player Rosie Galligan from West Malling featured in the England squad throughout the 2022 World Cup - scoring three times against South Africa on her world-cup debut and named in the squad for the recent 2023 TikTok Women’s Six Nations – although, frustratingly, injury preventing her from playing. A year ago she signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with land agents Walter Cooper, allowing her to train as an athlete full time. She tackles a few questions for us…
You were a brilliant all-round sportswoman at Maidstone Grammar school, playing netball, hockey and cricket county level – so what was it about rugby rather than the other sports that really grabbed you?
One of my brothers took me off to play on his tag team at Aylesford Bulls and it was the inclusivity that I loved – there were players there from all sorts of backgrounds. I’ve never been small and realising that rugby allowed me to capitalise on my size and strength was something else that won me over. But, above all, it was the friendliness, support and encouragement I got there that made rugby the sport I wanted to focus on.
After university at Loughborough, you began your career at Mill-Hill based Saracens before joining their London rivals Harlequins in June 2021. You debuted for England in the 2019 Six Nations, but you’ve certainly had some ups and downs since then…
Yes – in 2019 I was hospitalised for 10 days with meningitis. I was staying with a friend and rang my dad to tell him I felt terrible – and, thankfully, he drove an hour and a half in the middle of the night to collect me. Having recovered, I then had a serious ankle injury in 2020, while a ham-string injury in early spring of this year saw me out of the Six Nations, which was extremely disappointing. It would have been a great chance to showcase my skills, but clearly I’m going to have to wait a while longer!
How do you find the resilience to bounce back?
Rugby is what I want to do – and injury is part and parcel of the game. I have a very supportive family and a team around me, and I’ve been really impressed with the support I’ve had from my sponsors, too. With the latest injury, which saw me out of The Six Nations, I felt almost guilty but the Walter Cooper team told me they’re behind me whatever shape I’m in. As sponsors, they seem genuinely interested in me and my wellbeing – they share my belief that it’s possible to be great at sport and a good person, and that happy players make the best players. Plus they know I’m determined to play for England again – plus they know I’m determined to play for England again, with the goal of being a key player for the 2025 World Cup in England.
Women’s rugby has really taken off in popularity over the past few years, with a world-record-breaking-sized crowd for The Six Nations Final earlier this year. Why do you think that is?
I think it’s down to greater awareness generally as to the standard at which we play, plus, with their football success, the Lionesses have certainly helped pave the way in showing the strength of women’s sport as a product. We’ve come a long way in terms of training and there’s far more equality in all sorts of ways – not in salaries, yet, though! Men in sport still get paid far more that women, which is one of the reasons sponsorship has been so great for me.
What do the next few years hold, now you can train as a professional?
Sessions four times a week, with the hope of a signing to England very soon
And when you get time off, how do you like to spend it?
In West Malling, I like grabbing a coffee or lunch with my mum and sister, who works in events management, at Rosie’s Coffee & Juice or at The Swan. I also love Whitstable – just being down there by the sea always clears my head.
