Ashleigh Baxter

DOB:  21st December 1991

BIRTHPLACE:  Belfast

HEIGHT:  5′ 5″ (165 cm)

POSITION:  Fullback

HONOURS:  Ulster U18 Development Squad, 5 Belfast Harlequins Senior Games

When and why did you start playing rugby?

I started playing touch rugby in my 2nd year of school at Lisburn RFC. I never thought I would end up playing contact as hockey and swimming took up most of my time, but after a few seasons we slowly pushed towards the contact game and I’ve basically been addicted since.

Most memorable match that you played in and why was it memorable?

There are two matches that I will never forget. The first one is when I played for the Ulster U18 Development Squad against Munster in 2007. Being only 15 made putting on an ulster women’s shirt feel pretty impressive. Although after only playing 10 minutes due to injury, I would be worried if I couldn’t remember it.

The other has to be the Ulster Shield final this year against Ballymoney. I scored 4 tries and we won 39-10. It was a really enjoyable match to play in.

Least memorable match. Do you have a match that you’d like to forget?

Least memorable match is definitely Old Belvedere. We lost 66-0 and their centres just kept running in tries. It was nice to see them play so many moves! But it might have been better if they were playing a different team and we were just watching from the side.

Toughest opponent. Who and why?

I haven’t played many matches this year as I wasn’t old enough, but Cooke were probably the toughest. I had been told it would be a difficult match, but I didn’t expect it to be as hard as it actually was. They were really strong and the tackles hurt. I’ve never been lifted off the ground so many times in a game.

Longest in the changing room. Who out of all your team mates takes longest getting ready after a game?

I’m not really sure who takes the longest. One of our player’s who I’ll not name (LESLEY-ANN) has a wee thing for refs. So she generally takes her time after matches to make sure she’s looking well.