Page 397 - They Also Served

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Gemma Rowland 2011.
Of Welsh heritage, Gemma Louise
Rowland was born in Bristol on 7th
February 1989. Educated at Colston’s
School, she took up rugby when fellow
future international Laura Keates joined
the school. Together they lobbied for the
creation of a women’s team, which duly
entered the Rosslyn Park Sevens, the
world’s largest school rugby tournament.
After coming second, the fledgling
school team went on to win for the
following two years. With her first game
in a side of 15 players being the England Under 20s trials, her rugby career flourished as she studied at Exeter University. Earning an Army bursary as a 16-year-old, she entered Sandhurst in September 2010 as part of Alamein Company CC103 and was commissioned into the Royal Artillery.
Selected for the Army squad as a centre, she then graduated to the Combined Services team. In 2012, she was deployed to Afghanistan as a surveillance and target acquisition specialist with the 5th Regiment Royal Artillery. She later paid tribute to the quality of training she received: ‘I’d just turned 22 with minimal life experience but maximum training’. On her return, she signed for Premier League club Wasps. While playing for the Combined Services versus Wales at Cardiff Arms Park, Rowland was spotted by the Welsh coach and debuted for Wales in 2015. Managing a career in the army with club and national rugby, she served as a training officer with the 14th Regiment Royal Artillery in Larkhill and with the recruiting group in London tasked with increasing the number of females joining the army. Finally, she worked at Army Headquarters in the learning and development department.
Gemma Rowland played 19 times for Wales, including in the 2017 Rugby World Cup and the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She stated in an interview that her success was ‘Thanks to the Army supporting my career and giving me the time to train and travel for fixtures’. Having left the army and with an extensive background in recruiting and personnel management, she worked for International legal firm Osborne Clarke as a people development manager and co-chair of the Pride group.
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