FYes, Gaskin is the man behind St. Helens. The season comes to an end on Sunday when Saints face Jockey Valkyrie in the Women’s Super League grand final and she has been magical in midfield with her playmaking ability in the scrum half to feature in Tuesday’s Rugby League Awards Earned a nomination for “Women of Steel.”
It’s a remarkable achievement, especially considering she was told her career was over three years ago after a messy fracture of her kneecap, which still causes “pain in her knee every time she plays football.” But Sunday will be Gaskin’s first finals game and her last. At 32 years old, her first priority is to have a family of her own.
“I was in really bad shape after the 2018 World Cup and I lost an ovary. They advised me to try and start a family before I was 35,” she said. “You have to give it your all, you can’t play rugby and go through crazy IVF cycles at the same time – that’s just a waste of money.”
Gaskin is bushy tailed and squeezed with him for half an hour observer She spent time in Warrington’s living room before moving to work as a PE teacher at the local sixth form college. “I cry every time I think about it,” she said of the final game in a career that has stretched from the amateur flats to the first foothills of professionalism, the development of women’s sports. enchanting core.
Gaskin was born and raised in Widnes and started playing football for the West Coast Bears at the age of seven. As the only girl on the team, she would cover her hair with a toque so no one realized – and she didn’t want anyone to go easy on her during a tackle.
Attending games in Widnes was an important part of family life. “I would put on full gear and boots. I would tell my mom, ‘If someone gets hurt, I can still go on.’ ” She would say, “You’ve been dreaming. “My family didn’t have enough money to buy new boots, but when I got a set of Widnes for my birthday, I felt like the richest kid in the world.
A talented sportswoman, she also represented Liverpool on trial while British Athletics was making her mark on the outside. At 14, her gym teacher sat her down and told her she had to give up something. “I was thinking: ‘One day I’m going to play rugby for England’ and I remember her saying: ‘Do you choose rugby?’ I remember her face. ‘Fay, you’re kidding me. “
This is not an easy choice. When she left mixed rugby at around 12 she struggled to find a girls’ team as she moved from Chorley to Leigh East to Batley Heath and her mum Elaine was always the designated driver . “I drink a lot of tea on the highway.”
She was called up to the England squad in 2015 and played in the 2017 World Cup. “In 2015 we spent £800 on a trip to England to France. Next year the girls are going to Vegas to test against Australia and it’s been a crazy trip.
The Women’s Super League was formed in 2018 with St Helens joining and Gaskin joining. She recovered from Covid after a back garden blitz, but then injured herself during a try in the 2021 Challenge Cup final.
“I was going in for surgery and I asked, ‘When can I come back and play?’ The surgeon said, ‘You’ll never play again,’ and I was like, ‘What? ! He said, “You’re not going to play anymore, Faye.” “If we save your knee, this operation was a success. And then he walked away. I said to the guy who knocked me down, ‘Is he kidding me?’ “And – shh – I was eliminated.
Needless to say, she came back despite everything, albeit still walking with a limp and with constant pain in that precious right leg. The mental aspect of recovery was also tough – she wasn’t one to sit back and watch. “I’m still with the girls, but you don’t feel a part of it…It’s kind of heartbreaking that they’re so successful.”
Gaskin dragged herself in 2023 and, despite not being fully recovered, decided to get healthy and play another year. “It’s difficult when your sport is centered around you, when your whole family’s life is centered around you. It’s such a selfish profession. In fact, I have a niece, three nephews, and I need to help around the house. .
So, in the year she first got paid to play and played the best football of her career, Gaskin was leaving. No matter what happens next, she will give it her all and show no mercy.
