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Christine Belisle on her Rugby World Cup comeback
Christine Belisle thought her time representing Scotland on the international stage had been curtailed when she was omitted from the squad for the 2025 Rugby World Cup.
It would have been an abrupt way to finish an impressive international career, which saw the Canadian-born prop run out 41 times to that point.
It was not the final act of her international career, however, because injury after injury hit the Scottish front row and the 32-year-old received a late call-up to the squad not just to train for their first World Cup quarter-final since 2002, but to start at tighthead.
She said: “I had kind of come to terms with the fact that I wasn't going to be a part of it, and that was probably the end of my career with Scotland. Obviously, that's heartbreaking, but I knew I'd always support the girls.
“So I think that time was really challenging because I found it really difficult to watch, and I wanted to be supportive, but it was heartbreaking.
“Knowing that different girls kept getting injured, I just wanted to stay out of it because I didn't want to come to any conclusion that I might get called in.
“You don't want to get your hopes up. I had done that once before, and it always breaks you again, so when I did get the call from our manager, who said, ‘Will you please come in?’ I honestly just felt really excited.
“I didn't want to come in with a chip on my shoulder. I just wanted to help them and support them in whatever way that looked. I had no idea whether or not I'd be playing or not.
“I didn't know if I was just going to be in there to hold a bag or whatever, but I knew that it was an opportunity to go and be with my friends. So, I took it, obviously got the start, got to play, and got to be part of something really special for Scotland. That was really special for me.”
Clearly, Belisle had been through an emotional whirlwind, but her approach had never strayed from what has made her a success in her rugby career to date.
The prop is hugely popular across both the Scotland and Loughborough squads, and made sure that when she joined the World Cup squad, she only spread positivity.
She said: “The first time I was ever capped and brought on tour was not because I was the most talented player in the world at all. It was because I was willing to work hard, and I was really good energy.
“I knew the privilege that it was to be in that environment, and so I didn't care what that looked like. I wanted to make sure that I was going to be good energy for everyone, and that's the same kind of thing I wanted to bring in when I got called back in for the World Cup quarterfinal.
“I just wanted to enjoy it. I was very conscious going back in that I would probably have the opportunity to actually close the door on my own terms.
“I made sure that every minute that I had in that environment with all my friends and everybody who had been so important to me during my career, that all of those things I would walk away and feel at peace with.”
Having stopped the clock on her time with Scotland, Belisle has turned her attention to other things, mainly growing her personal training business, Strong Friends Club.
It aims to spread positivity in gym culture, based on lifting heavy and making gains instead of losing fat, which can be damaging to people with body image insecurities.
She said: “Rugby has been so integral to helping me become who I am, both in recognising that strength is important and empowering that hard work has built my character.
“To be able to bring all of the good vibes and energy and friendships and community that I get within rugby squads, I wanted to provide that to people who maybe don't play rugby but need that or want that to feel like they can make progress wherever they are in the world
“So the whole premise is just about shifting the narrative that we often see from having to shrink to have value or to get skinny to have value, or if you're not getting smaller, you're not making progress.
”The internet, especially, and some of the gyms that I've worked in previously, are so saturated with bodybuilding content or before and after photos, and I appreciate that there is a time and place for all of those things.
“However, I think for the average person who just wants to feel better, only seeing content that's promoting drastic before and after changes, or not really supporting any kind of lifestyle, mindset, nutrition, education or support, that's a one-way track to continuing a negative cycle.”
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