Barber 'honoured' with captaincy

Zoe Barber has been named as squad captain for the Hartpury Girls’ AASE Squad for their upcoming 2012-13 season.

The A level student, who’s currently studying English Literature, Chemistry and Biology, has been given the honour of leading one of the most successful female rugby teams in the country.

“It’s a mixture of nervousness and excitement” she said. “I’m nervous because I don’t want to let people down and it means so much to me. But excited because Hartpury has become such a big part of my life and it’s an honour to be asked to be captain of such a great team – I still can’t believe it!”

Zoe, a strong back rower, will skipper a team which boasts a history of success. Last year the team won the British Colleges Cup, as well as beating Scotland U20s home and away.

Hartpury’s Rugby Academy has seen over 100 internationals in ten years and the women’s setup have played a major part in this success over the past four years. A wealth of individual success includes 15 U20 internationals, 1 senior 7s player and two ex-students currently plying their trade for Worcester in the women’s premiership.

Women’s rugby academy manager Danielle Waterman said, “It is always such a hard task to select our squad captain, as so many of the girls could excel in this role.  However, this year I have selected Zoe not only for her outstanding commitment and development in her on-field rugby, but also as an excellent role model in all aspects of college.”

The England full back added “She is a very determined and self-motivated student, and has balanced her busy sporting commitments with a challenging academic timetable. I also hope this role will support Zoe's self-confidence, which was highlighted in her team talk before our recent fixture against Welwyn.”

The team impressed in their opening game of the season, seeing off a well-drilled Welwyn side 55-0.

Tries from Abbie Brown (2), Sarah Nichols and Jess Millar before half-time saw Hartpury leading by 24 points at the break. A barrage of tries came in the second half as Welwyn began to tire, with the match eventually going convincingly in Hartpury’s favour. 

Zoe, was glad to see the team get the season away to a good start, “everyone put in an amazing performance for the first game and hopefully this will set the standard for the rest of the year.”