FEMALE rugby players will be lining up in the blue of Musselburgh for the first time in more than 30 years.

A new pathway has been created for budding and talented rugby players, with the club joining the East Aspiring League ahead of the new season kicking off next month.

It is the first time since the 1993/94 season that the club has fielded a women’s team in one of the official Scottish Rugby Leagues.

The new team’s first training sessions took place nearly 12 months ago.

The women will play as part of a festival at Lasswade with the other teams from Group Blue at the beginning of next month.

Then, they will embark on their first league fixture away at Berwick, before home games against Gala on September 29 and near-neighbours Dalkeith on November 3 sandwich a contest at Lasswade.

The team will be led by current senior men’s player James Ferguson alongside Kirsty McConnell, who currently plays for Premiership side Heriot’s Blues.

Blair Stewart, Musselburgh RFC president, was counting down to the history-making campaign kicking off.

He said: “We are delighted to confirm that we are in a position to join the Scottish Women’s aspiring league this coming season.

“Having only started our women’s rugby and fitness group less than a year ago, we are ahead of plan.

“We are grateful for the support from Scottish Rugby and our thanks go to coaches James Ferguson and Kirsty McConnell.

“Most of all, a big thank you to the women who have stepped up to join this group.

“Our club is all the richer for it and we are excited about the prospect of developing women’s rugby in Musselburgh and East Lothian.

“We’d like to take the opportunity to put a call out to interested women in the county to come and join us on this journey, whether as player or helper.”

A further two Aspiring Festivals are also planned for before the end of the year, with locations still to be confirmed.

A number of other clubs across the county provide a pathway for girls looking to make their way in rugby.

In Dunbar, there are under-12, under-14 and under-16 teams in the making, while North Berwick also caters for girls looking to enjoy the sport.

East Lothian Girls Rugby also offers youngsters the chance to try their hand at rugby.

Anyone interested in joining the MRFC Women’s section should email mrfcwomens@outlook.com for more information or pop down to training, which takes place every Wednesday from 6.30pm to 7.30pm.