Editor
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September 24 at 07:30
Ruth Dives, aged 36, is part of the squad of 12 women who will head to Australia in April to take part in the competition. She has been deaf in her right side for the entirety of her adult life after suffering multiple infections as a child which caused severe damage to her inner ear. However it does not stop her from playing rugby as she regularly turns out for both Gordano RFC and Clevedon Ladies RFC, Ruth, who lives in Moor Lane, said: “I now wear a hearing aid in my right ear. “However I do not wear it while playing rugby, so I have to tell the referee each game that I am deaf and may not hear him or her. “I do struggle to hear shouts and calls from my own team sometimes, and I can never hear anyone from the touchlines. “My teammates just shout louder at me. “It seems to work most of the time and can be quite funny at times.”
Ruth played for the England Deaf 15 team last season in a game against Devon, but said she had ‘goosebumps’ when she found out she had been selected for next year’s tournament. She said: “I couldn’t believe it when I found out I had been selected for the sevens squad to travel to Australia. “I had goosebumps and was bouncing around our holiday home. “My 12-year-old son, Cohen, said ‘wow mum, you’ve got to go’. “This is the first deaf sevens tournament so we have no idea what our opposition will be like yet. “We just need to train and be at our very best, then see what happens in Sydney.” England Deaf Rugby Union, which has been in existence for 11 years, received charitable status in 2010 and each player and member of staff has been asked to put a minimum of £1,000 towards the cost of the seven-day stay in Australia. The England Deaf team plays against other national deaf rugby teams as well as demonstration and community matches. The World Deaf Rugby Sevens tournament will run from April 20-27.
Source:North Somerset Times