Meet A Hunter - (Ed) Edward Shaw - Outside Centre 🦦

INTRODUCTION

Edward (Ed) Alexander Shaw - commonly using Otter as a second name, joined The Leeds Hunters RUFC as one of the club’s youngest members. He has been a core part of the Hunters family throughout the club’s rise in the Northern IGR and played in international campaigns at the Bingham and Union Cups. When he began his journey into Rugby he had just moved to Leeds for University and is studying education at Leeds Beckett University as trainee teacher. Ed was diagnosed HIV+ in 2018 and in this interview he tells about his life in Rugby, living with HIV+ and the life lessons he’s learned through Rugby.

What one word describes you?

Otter Probably! 🦦 Nah I think the word is dedicated. Its been fours years, I was there at the pre gathering gathering before we were even officially a team and just a few people training at Roundhay Park!

How did you get involved with the Leeds Hunters

It was a friend from University, I’d been playing Rugby back home and a friend in the LGBTQ group said a new team starting. I had played Rugby League in Wigan, it hadn’t always been so inclusive. I had only really just come out to them. I’d missed sport during my time at college as I’d wanted to focus on my studies. The inclusive nature of the club convinced me to change code. I’d always considered Rugby as having a slightly toxic masculinity and I found the mission of the Hunters very appealing.

How does it feel to have seen the club grow over the years?

I think it emphasise the pride of it all. I never imagined us being as big as we were at our first training session, never mind now! Word got out and more players kept joining. It collimated up at our performance at the Union Club in Dublin. It was my second international tournament against IGR Clubs. Even when I was playing League I’d always wanted to travel. I’d played before at the Bingham Cup in Amsterdam but Union Cup was special because of our performance. It was phenomenal, it was a different vibe to anything I’ve experienced, we felt like a family not just us but the whole IGR.

HAVE YOU HAD ANY PREVIOUS RUGBY EXPERIENCE?

“I am from a Rugby League family, in a League Town in a League Region. My Rugby career started in primary school. I think I was in year 4 and we were doing touch Rugby after school. I originally I started to make my dad proud. I didn’t have much to talk to him about, I didn’t like action man or sports, the only masculine things I liked was robot wars and dinosaurs. I was more interested in dancing and musicals and playing with my cousins Bratz dolls. I went to my first session though, and the coach said I had a lot of potential. I stayed with that club for 11 years in total, they were called the New Springs Lions ARLFC, sadly no longer with us. I’ve always liked being active but I never felt I was doing the right activity until the Rugby!”

“I was always the nerdy kid at school. I always did well at school, I was bullied and it was hard to fir in because I was so different. I don’t recall anyone at school like me. At least not overtly, it was hard to work out where I fitted in. I knew I was a man but it felt like I had to like cars and the colour blue but then Rugby felt it moulded with me.”

Tell us about your first match?

“My first match. After playing for 11 years and then not playing for 4 I had a mixture of excitement and nervous In the changing room. I wasn’t anxious I was apprehensive. I remember putting my boots on and going onto the pitch. I hadn’t played contact in a while. in the seconds before the whistle went I thought WHAT AM I DOING? I’m still here though. After I made my first tackle it all just came flowing back and it was like I’d ever been off the pitch at all, It was amazing! This was before we even had kit and we had to borrow the doctors and dentist kits. We lost unfortunately but we put in a really good performance for a new squad, we got a few tries. The Club Captain bought us all a pint after, I kept drinking after and I can’t remember much more.”

HOW HAS BEING HIV+ IMPACTED YOUR RUGBY CAREER?

“For me it was extremely challenging when I was first diagnosed. I had a really bad reaction to the treatment at first. I’d never expected anything like that to happen and never thought I’d ever have to go through anything like it, However I did. Its not the end of the world. I’ve come a long way since. I had to accept it. I didn’t feel different I didn’t feel odd I just felt like Ed. Rugby helped me through that. Training provided an escape, it provided normality. Stepping onto the pitch it just felt like one part of my life that didn’t change and that was so freeing. When it happens to you have blood tests and doctors meetings so its an escape. When I walk up to the pitch and I see the team there, they make this new crazy wall completely manageable. They made me feel I can get over that wall. Their positive attitudes and support helped me get back to where I wanted to be. One thing people forget in the modern day is that everyone has emotions and feelings. Being able to respect and treat people properly is imperative. When we understand our differences make us stronger that’s when we will go in the right direction. Too many people have regressive attitudes to HIV and we need to stop going backwards and start going forwards. When I accepted and understood it, it wasn’t end it was a new beginning and I had to my best with it so I did. Now I’m a trainee teacher dong a career I adore, playing the sport I love proudly living with HIV.”

Who is your favorite sports hero??

“Sean O'Loughlin the Wigan Warriors former captain who retired this year. He’s always summed up to Rugby to me. Not league, not union, just Rugby. I don’t even know how to explain it but he leads people in a way I’ve never seen people led. You can be having the worst match, 100 points down and he will keep encouraging you. He will not stop because it gets hard. His mentality is over and above anyone’s I’ve ever met. I met him at Wigan Warriors training when I was a kid, he was so positive he’d never scream or shout or raise his voice negatively on the pitch/ He was only encourage and that’s something everyone should learn. I strive to be like him and that’s what I want to achieve for the club in future.”

What WOULD YOU SAY TO SOMEONE THINKING OF JOINING THE CLUB?

“Erm… I would say absolutely do not hesitate. Do it. It can be a terrifying step for an experienced player to join a new club and return to Rugby. The thing about the Hunters is that we always want to be better, nit just on the pitch but within ourselves. We’re a family, the only way to get through is to embrace it and act upon it. To someone with no experience I’d say don’t be afraid. Just look at some of the people we have who’d never picked up a ball before. That’s testament to anyone whose never been involved in Rugby whose taken that first step. its a testament to the club accepting and inclusive environment. I always call the Hunters my second family”

What DO YOU THINK RUGBY AS A GAME HAS TAUGHT YOU ABOUT LIFE?

"The root cause of Rugby is family. Its not about whose right or whose wrong its about how you go forward together. After a match its not about whose the best kicker, passer or try scorer its about how can you benefit everyone else on the pitch. Its about self-reflection. Completely, I know a lot of people tell me it looks like second nature when they watch me but actually I’m always assessing and learning. I watch people from the side-lines during matches and what I learn are skills from then I don’t currently have. When to kick, where to kick, tacking and Rucking! Rucking was really new to me coming from League so watching forwards like Ross and Ben Mills back in the day was incredibly useful in helping me learn.”

“Another massive thing is morals! It provides a structure around how you conduct yourself, even when you disagree with people. There’s a lot of hate towards people who are different. Its a terrifying time to be different. It can be hard not to feel you fit in a box but our diversity is our power. Respect and Rugby values would teach a lot of people across all communities a lot about morals, respect and embracing difference. When you look at a Rugby team, especially ours we’re all different shapes, sizes and backgrounds. We’re all very different but we’re still team. We all love and respect each other and that’s a mirror to the modern community.”