Rugby star Liz Musgrove pays tribute to former team-mate Megan Gaffney

The duo, both from North Berwick, were part of the Scotland squad at both the Commonwealth Games and the Rugby World Cup last year.

Gaffney retired from international rugby earlier this year, while Musgrove has now been joined by Francesca McGhie in representing East Lothian in the Scotland squad.

Musgrove picked out five photographs from her rugby career and spoke to Scottish Rugby about what they meant to her.

Among the images was one of her and Gaffney at the Rugby Europe Trophy Sevens in 2017.

She said: “I got my first sevens cap not long after starting playing and we were undefeated that season.

“We had a really good run of games and then we gained promotion to the Championship the next year.

READ MORE: Pro contract for Musgrove ahead of Six Nations

“It is also quite a special picture because me and Megan are both from North Berwick.

“I think that first season she took me to all my camps, told me where to stand on the pitch, she told me what to do and I think she has been there for all the good moments and all the bad moments of my rugby career so far.

“With her recently retiring, I’m excited to have her in the stands and watching and cheering us on.”

Musgrove, who also spent time playing rugby in Hong Kong, has picked up 13 caps for her country.

Liz Musgrove is hoping to help Scotland to the Rugby World Cup. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire.

She took up the sport while at the University of Edinburgh and had previously competed in both athletics and judo, winning bronze at the Junior British Judo Championships in 2009.

She said: “I was quite late to starting rugby.

“I was in my third year at Edinburgh University and I went into training on the Monday with some gentle persuasion from Claire Cruikshank and then on Saturday I was sat on the bench for our varsity match.

“I think not many people can say that their first game of rugby was in front of a few thousand people at BT Murrayfield so that was a really, really cool experience.

“[I was] definitely thrown in the deep end but, overall, really cool.

“I was lucky enough that when I first started, Edinburgh University was full of Scotland internationals.

“At the time, we had Megan Gaffney, Rhona Lloyd, Lisa Thomson, Katie Dougan, Sarah Law and those people I just learned so much from in those early stages.”

Scotland’s participation at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand last year was the first time in 12 years that the country had reached the major tournament. It also came after both Gaffney and Musgrove had represented their country in the rugby sevens in Birmingham during the Commonwealth Games.

READ MORE: Liz Musgrove in Scotland squad for Six Nations championships

Musgrove again highlighted the impact of her fellow East Lothian athlete, who retired with 45 caps.

She said: “Going into the Commonwealth Games and the Rugby World Cup last year, we had such amazing support from everyone.

“When I was growing up, I did not necessarily have huge famous role models that I looked up to.

“It was often the older girls in my judo club or it was people like Rhona Lloyd and Megan Gaffney when I started playing. They were the kind of people I looked up to.

“To think we could now be those role models for young girls coming through is really important.

“My dad saw [one of the photos, of Musgrove with a young girl] and said ‘that’s like you speaking to future you’ and that really struck home with me and it is a responsibility that I don’t take lightly that we can be role models to young girls coming through.”