In her daily practice and play, Shanae Gordon is used to clutching a ball and outsprinting rivals. In the classroom, the national rugby player is proving how much those qualities are part of her educational habits, by grabbing a scholarship provided by the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) and run with it to now earn an academic scholarship.
One of the first recipients of the JOA Scholarship, Gordon, who is pursuing a degree in the Bachelor’s of Education programme at G.C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sport, expressed gratitude for the JOA Scholarship and now this addition awarded by the institution for her exploits in the classroom.
“After receiving a grant from the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA), through the Jamaica Rugby Football Union (JRFU), I must say my journey has been tremendous and exciting. In receiving my grant, it has reduced my financial burden and it is ensuring my success in the future,” said Gordon revealed.
Noting that she has been emboldened by interview opportunities that came as a result of her being a historic recipient of the bursary, she added: “Subsequent to getting this award I received multiple interviews from both radio and Tv stations about being a recipient of this sporting grant and it was just the beginning of my journey. I tend to be a very shy person. However, after completing several interviews I became more confident and outgoing.”
Continuing, Gordon said: “The thought of getting help to finish my third year has given me a very strong drive, whereas it motivated me intrinsically. I have been doing well academically, but this grant allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and make a lot of improvements. Regardless of the difficulty adapting to the online learning, I couldn’t find the courage to complain due to the fact that it was an adjustable situation.”
Ryan Foster, Secretary/General/CEO, JOA, said in creating the scholarship, this is the sort of impact they intended to advance the educational perspective of athletes in becoming wholesome individuals.
"The JOA scholarship was created to provide an avenue for our athletes to excel not only on the field of play but in the classroom. Our expansion of the educational perspective, we believe, is another avenue within which our athletes can benefit from our expansive member services. This is in addition to our Internship Programme, our IT shared services, as well as our recently launched Equipment Grant,” outlined Foster.
“The JOA will continue to put our athletes at the front and we are excited to witness the success of Ms Gordon not only in the classroom but also on the field where she will represent the country in the upcoming Olympic Qualifiers in June.
“Ms Gordon and all the JOA scholarship awardees are the first recipients of what we consider a part of our legacy, one which will lay the foundation for many years to come,” added Foster.
Novelette Harris, Member Services Manager, JOA, noted that Gordon’s success proves the balance is quite achievable.
“We are proud of our scholarship recipients and are happy that they continue to do well in their capacities of both athlete and student,” said Harris. “This serves as a demonstration that there can be a balance between sport and academics. The JOA will continue to provide the necessary support, financially and otherwise.”
Gordon said Harris has been supportive of her efforts.
“This grant has changed my way of thinking and I appreciate the fact that it didn’t only come with funds for me to finish college, but it came with a strong individual, Ms Harris, who continued to tell me not to give up. It helped me to believe in myself more and I just want to say thanks again to the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) for granting me this scholarship. Great things are yet to come,” Gordon promised.
Chairman of the JRFU, Jerry Benzwick, said the association is proud of Gordon’s academic achievements, noting that they also share the JOA’s vision of “rounded athletes”.
“We at the JRFU are extremely proud of Shanae Gordon, our first rugby union recipient of a JOA Academic Scholarship. She has spent her time over the past school year maintaining a high standard of study. Shanae has proven herself an excellent ambassador for the sport,” said Benzwick.
“We share the JOA’s vision of rounded athletes who can move beyond their sport and be exemplary citizens who contribute positively to the development and growth of Jamaica,” added Benzwick. “Shanae is now in preparation to compete with her team in the Olympic Qualifier Repechage in June and we look forward to them qualifying.”
END.
England battle to victory over 14-player Canada
England recorded a 29-12 victory to do the double over Canada at the StoneX Stadium.
The visitors had to play over an hour with 14 players after Gabrielle Senft was sent off for a high tackle on Hannah Botterman in the 17th minute.
They trailed 10-0 at that point as Marlie Packer and Ellie Kildunne had scored tries in the opening 13 minutes for England.
Canada made a fight of it despite their numerical disadvantage but further tries from Maud Muir, Amber Reed and Jess Breach secured victory for the Red Roses.
Captain Packer, who touched down during the 50-24 win at Sandy Park last weekend against the same opposition, got the scoring started when she forced the ball over from a dominant driving maul.
Kildunne doubled the hosts’ score after 13 minutes following some good pressing, with a second conversion from Meg Jones unsuccessful.
After Senft’s dismissal, Canada reduced the deficit through a 26th-minute Sara Svoboda try.
But England crossed the whitewash again through Muir on the stroke of half-time, with Jones this time adding the extras to make it 17-5 at the break.
The Red Roses extended their lead further 10 minutes into the second half as Bristol’s Reed found a gap in the Canada defence and pounced over. Jones was again on target with the conversion.
Breach crossed over following a great run from Jones to put England’s victory beyond doubt – moments after replacement scrum-half Lucy Packer limped off.
Canada reduced the deficit through a converted Taylor Perry try late on but the Red Roses comfortably held on.
Cian Healy could still get called into Ireland squad after injury issue eases
Ireland will continue to monitor the fitness of absent prop Cian Healy following encouraging progress in his recovery from the injury which caused him to be left out of Andy Farrell’s Rugby World Cup squad.
Healy was certain to be included in Farrell’s 33-man selection for France before suffering a calf problem against Samoa on August 26 in his country’s final warm-up match.
The vastly-experienced Leinster loosehead, who will turn 36 next Saturday – the day Ireland complete their Pool B fixtures against Scotland in Paris, posted a positive update on social media, saying his rehabilitation was “ahead of schedule”.
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Ireland team manager Mick Kearney believes Healy “would be a great addition” for later in the tournament, although he could only be called up if another player departed injured.
“The medics and S and C (strength and conditioning) would be in regular contact with Cian and I’m sure other players back home to see how their fitness levels are,” said Kearney.
“It’s great to see Cian back training and training well.
“Possibly later in the tournament, if we get an injury, Cian would be a great addition, if he was fully fit.
“I would say it’s good to see him back training but it will require an injury to another player for Cian to be able to come in.”
Initial prognosis on Healy’s injury suggested he would be sidelined for between five and 10 weeks.
The lower end of that estimate was reached on Saturday, two days after an Instagram video showed the 125-cap front-row forward working hard in the gym and running on the training pitch.
Healy, whose place in the squad was taken by Munster’s Jeremy Loughman, captioned the footage with: “It wasn’t easy getting here, but happy the body still knows how to recover ahead of schedule.
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“Looking forward to getting back to it and will be forever grateful to those who got me to this point.”
Ireland are on the cusp of the quarter-finals following wins over Romania, Tonga and defending champions South Africa.
Head coach Farrell has so far been fortunate with injuries and had a full complement of players training on Saturday ahead of next weekend’s pivotal Stade de France showdown with the Scots.
Nevertheless, contingency plans are in place.
“There was a lot of conversations with the provinces during pre-season as to how we would keep the players fit that are not in the World Cup squad,” said Kearney.
“And you saw that there’s a mini interprovincial series going on at the moment. Leinster played Ulster the other night and Munster played Leinster as well.
“Whether it be Jamie Osborne or Gavin Coombes, Kieran Treadwell, there’s guys that are getting regular game time which is brilliant because initially I think the provinces might have said ‘we may not start playing pre-season games until a little bit later’.
“So it’s really good from our point of view that these guys are getting game time and will actually be match fit if they’re called in, which is always a possibility.”
Effort and hard work is Wales’ ‘bread and butter’ at World Cup – Mike Forshaw
Mike Forshaw has described effort and hard work as Wales’ “bread and butter” as they build towards the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
Wales were the first team to secure last-eight status, which they achieved following a record 40-6 victory over Pool C rivals Australia.
Japan or Argentina now await them in the knockout phase, although their one remaining group game against Georgia in Nantes next Saturday will see them guaranteed to progress as group winners if they triumph.
While Wales have scored 11 tries in the tournament so far, their defence – Forshaw’s specialist area – has been a dominant factor.
They have made 506 tackles in three matches, while four players – Jac Morgan, Gareth Thomas, Will Rowlands and Taulupe Faletau – are all among the competition’s top 20, individually.
“We’ve had a lot of tackling practice haven’t we?” Wales assistant coach Forshaw said.
“You have got to give the boys a bit of credit. I think at the weekend (against Australia), the first 20 minutes was up to around 75 tackles, compared with Australia’s 20-odd.
“Sometimes we are going to have to defend, we are going to be under the pump.
“I understand that in this competition because there are good teams, but I would like to see us playing a bit more, having a bit more even-stevens of a game where we get a bit more time to express ourselves with the ball.
“But when we have not got the ball, it is about that switch of transition and how good we can be. I always say the defence is the start of our attack.
“The biggest thing I like coaching is effort. We have to work hard and that is the bread and butter for us at the moment. These lads have been brilliant.
“If you are under 10 penalties (conceded) in this game and you are under 10 turnovers (conceded), you more or less win the game.
“We were accurate, but I don’t want to get too carried away. We have got to repeat that.”
Wales’ players have returned to the training pitch following four days off and all attention is now on Georgia, a team that toppled them in Cardiff last November.
Whether head coach Warren Gatland makes changes remains to be seen, but it cannot be ruled out as Wales prepare for the World Cup’s business-end.
Forshaw added: “The last couple of days, I’ve watched their (Georgia’s) games and I think they can be dangerous.
“I think they throw the ball around well. They’ve got a very dangerous full-back. They have some heavy forwards around set-pieces. They get into your five-metre channel.
“It is how we manage that game. We won’t be taking them lightly, that is for sure.
“We’ve got a selection meeting on Sunday evening. I’ve got a couple of ideas, I’m sure that Warren has got a couple of ideas and some of the other staff.
“If I’m totally honest with you, I’m not sure on that question on what we will do with the team, but one thing is for sure, we will be a strong team.”
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