An 8th minute ovation for Remember Siobhan
By Allan MacDonald
I owe Siobhan Cattigan a huge debt of gratitude.
It was the first time I took my daughter to rugby. She had always turned down the chance to come to Murrayfield with me but after going to school she asked me if I wanted to take her to see the Scottish women play against Canada.
We cheered as Siobhan and her teammates carried ball after ball through heavy traffic and were gutted by the utterly undeserved but narrow defeat.
As we were leaving the stadium she turned and asked if I would take her to rugby practice. The season ended with my pride watching her play in the U15 girls final at Murrayfield. Rugby has been an important bond for us ever since, through tough times, and I will be forever grateful.
We were both appalled to learn of Siobhan’s untimely death. And then irritated by Article by David Walsh in The Timesespecially to read about how the SRU had treated Siobhan’s heartbroken family.
Then there was the bizarre statement from the head of the players’ union, which was quickly discredited as the team made it clear that they had not been consulted and that the head of their union did not speak for them.
It is clear from the article that Siobhan’s partner and family strongly believe that she was rejected by the SRU.
When adverse events occur, it is essential that the circumstances are thoroughly and dispassionately examined, so that learning can be applied, allowing systems and processes to be improved where necessary.
It requires the humility to ask the hard questions that lead to learning and then take those lessons on board. I don’t believe the SRU at the corporate level has the humility to do that.
Watch the union’s press conference, where the pugnacious defensiveness of Mark Dodson’s and John Jeffries’ responses contrasted sharply with the humanity of Dr. James Robson. I am confident that Dr. Robson’s team will have asked the hard questions and learned what they could.
I can’t say the same for the larger SRU. These are my reasons for doing this. Others may disagree, and that’s fine. But I think we can all agree that we lost a player who played the game we all love, and played it well.
Siobhan Cattigan died way too soon, and it’s a tragedy whichever way you look at it.
I hope you’ll consider standing and cheering with me during the 8th minute of each of the upcoming Autumn Internationals in honor of Siobhan, starting with the game against Australia.
You can follow Allan on twitter @OldGeneralist and please let your friends who attend the games know using the hashtags #8thMinuteOvation and #RememberSiobhan on social media.
(You can listen to our podcast episode discussing Siobhan and the SRU here – ed.).
