By Jesse Johnson
COBOURG, ON — “I didn’t know that a sport I knew so little about, was going to become so important to me,” says Taylor Harrigan, an 18-year-old student at the University of Guelph and Port Hope resident who was selected as one of the top 26 women to represent Ontario at the Canadian Rugby Championships in Nova Scotia from July 29 until August 4, 2024.
Harrigan and her family moved to Northumberland County during the Covid-19 pandemic. She was going into grade 10 at the time and had “no idea what Rugby was. I had heard the term ‘sevens’ used briefly while living in Durham Region, but I had never known what was being talked about,” she says.
From there, she began immersing herself in Rugby while all the people around her were playing.
“I would go to the practices because I enjoyed supporting my friends. It was when I began hanging around at winter training sessions for my high school that all of the teachers and coaches would start teasing me about the fact I was always there anyway, so why wasn’t I just playing?
“At this point, I was adamant about the fact that I was a Volleyball player through and through until my high school hosted Boys and Girls AA OFSAA in 2022 that I realized the game was so much more than a sport but a community as a whole,” says Harrigan.
She just recently found out she would be playing for Ontario at the Canadian Rugby Championships at the end of this month.
“Finding out I was selected to play for Ontario was a proud moment for me. Through this, I showed myself that hard work, effort, and determination can truly pay off in the end. I have been working towards this since the end of April and it is very exciting to be able to represent Ontario at the Canadian Rugby Championships whilst playing alongside an awesome group of girls,” she says.
Harrigan says she doesn’t have any long-term plans for Rugby going forward.
“The place I am in right now with Rugby is something I never could have imagined for myself. As previously mentioned, I began playing in September 2022 and it has now been just shy of 2 years since I began playing.
“I had not even thought about trying out for the University of Guelph team until I was encouraged by a coach, who then sent some of my game films to the [Ontario] coach, in which I received an invite to training camp where I secured my spot on the team as a walk-on.
“Each milestone I have come to in my Rugby journey has brought shock and nothing but gratitude. Never in a million years would I have seen myself playing anything other than Volleyball – and at the University level too. I try my best to set short-term goals and not dwell on the future, I plan to see where it takes me and develop my potential to be the best possible athlete I can be,” she says.
Harrigan is holding a draw to raise funds for her trip. You can message Sara Santacona through Facebook if you would like to support Taylor.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
