Dee Bradbury: The first-ever woman to become a Scottish Rugby Union President

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Dee Bradbury OBE, who became the 128th President of the Scottish Rugby Union, was the first-ever woman to hold that role.

“I was immensely proud to become the first female president of a Tier 1 union and to represent Scottish Rugby in Europe.” said Bradbury.

She became the first female President of a Tier One Rugby Union when she took up the President’s role for a two-season term in 2018. Bradbury was given an OBE in the 2021 New Year’s Honours and was recently inducted into Scottish Rugby’s Hall of Fame.

Bradbury took up Rugby Union at the age of 38 after her athletics career finished, and whilst watching the Mull Sevens tournament, she became hooked on the sport. Bradbury later helped found the women’s team of Oban Lorne and played in the team which she reflected on fondly.

“Straight away we all had great fun and I will never forget our first tour to the Amsterdam Sevens when we came up against the Canada national side in our first match. The importance of playing rugby is underpinned by the values of discipline and engagement and those ethics can be applied to everyday life, the ethos of the game very important.”

So who is Dee Bradbury OBE and what do we know about this charismatic personality who became the first woman to hold the presidency in Scottish Rugby Union?

Mother of two sons, Edinburgh Rugby back-row forward Magnus Bradbury and Fergus Bradbury, Donalda Macintyre Maclay Bradbury, but known as Dee, was born in Dumbarton, a small town on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary.

Her sporting background is mainly in athletics, having represented Scotland and Great Britain at junior and masters levels. She is a retired Police Officer having spent most of her career investigating serious sexual crime and child protection enquiries.

Bradbury splits her time between Oban and Edinburgh and is married to Nick Bradbury, a commercial manager who actually saved her life.

The former athlete and police detective came close to death when she collapsed at her home by Loch Etive, 13 miles from Oban. She was having a barbecue with her husband when she was suddenly taken ill.

Her husband, Nick Bradbury, spoke about the incident in more detail.

 “She made a brief choking sound and collapsed, stopped breathing and had no pulse. To all intents and purposes she was dead.”

She had suffered a cardiac arrest and it was only down to the life-saving CPR applied by her husband and a neighbour in Oban, Lindsay Vare, that she survived.

Bradbury had to undergo subsequent surgery, however, she made a full recovery and spent that Christmas with her husband and her sons.

Recently inducted into the Scottish Rugby Hall Of Fame, the highlight of her lucrative career was her inclusion in the New Year’s Honours List and being awarded the OBE for services to Rugby Union in 2021.

“I was absolutely over the moon when I heard I was being awarded the OBE,” she said.

Scottish Rugby Chief Executive, Mark Dodson was full of praise for Bradbury after hearing about her inclusion in the New Year’s Honours list and receiving the OBE at the ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

“Myself and everyone at Scottish Rugby were delighted for Dee [Bradbury], who was a fantastic ambassador for Scottish Rugby. After what has been a challenging time, this was a very welcome acknowledgment for her role within rugby in Scotland over many years.”

Bradbury stepped down after serving her full term as President of the Scottish Rugby Union and the former police investigation officer should be recognised for not only her amazing work with what is mainly a male-dominated sport but for raising the profile of women in sport.

The leading lady has set the world alight and shown what can be achieved through hard work and dedication. It should also be noted that we recognise the work of the SRU in taking steps to ensure that everybody no matter their sex, colour, religious beliefs or sexual orientation has the opportunity to reach the top.

“I see it very much as recognition for our rugby community in Scotland. You know, standing on touchlines on wet and windy nights, driving my sons to training and matches, washing the mini-rugby strips.”

There have been other milestones in rugby including the appointment of Maria Thomas who became the first female President of Trinidad and Tobago Rugby Union and was immensely proud to do so.

“It’s an amazing feeling, and I think what I’m most proud of is the community that I represent and the way that the management and the entire community engaged in the process of election.”

Thomas could never have envisioned making such an important impact on the country’s rugby. After all, she had simply “tagged along” to rugby training with her male cousins, having moved to the Caribbean country from Canada following the completion of her university studies.

She openly admits her mum used to call her aunt and plead with her not to let her daughter get injured or hurt. However for Thomas, the seeds of a passion that first took root at the University of Western Ontario were already well on their way to blooming.

She would go on to represent Trinidad and Tobago internationally at both sevens and 10s and she has become an impressive advocate for the game off the pitch as well as on it.

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