Kelly clocks up the miles for his ‘family’

Nick Powell talks to Fin Kelly ahead of an epic challenge to help fund his women’s sevens side and support a charity close to his heart

Most players, staff members and even fans of rugby clubs would go to great lengths to support their team, but few would consider running 250 miles in a week a worthwhile sacrifice.

But that’s what Fin Kelly, founder of women’s sevens team Savvy Panthers, will do starting Sunday looking to raise £10,000, to be split 50/50 between his team and Brave Mind – a charity supporting mental health awareness in rugby clubs and schools.

Kelly’s training has been interrupted by niggling injuries but he is certain that a club he calls his “family” and a charity he truly believes in will get him over the finish line.

“Physically am I 100 per cent ready? Probably not,” admitted Kelly, 23, below. “Mentally am I ready? Yeah I think so. Will I get through it? Definitely, because it’s for my family and for Brave Mind – that’s the thing that will get me through it.”

Initially a middle distance runner, Kelly took up rugby aged 15. A series of injuries hampered his progress, and he stopped playing six years ago after several blows to the head. He turned to coaching, and though he initially lacked self-confidence the Covid-19 lockdowns gave him the time he needed to discover what he really wanted to do.

“I stopped playing in 2018 after three or four pretty serious concussions over the course of the season,” he added. “I got into coaching in the run up to Covid, but I was beginning to fall out of love with the game and doubted my coaching ability.

“Lockdown forced me to take a step back and think about what I wanted to do and evaluate why I’d been coaching. The idea of being able to run something in the way that I feel is right to me, and that would have benefits for players, was what I wanted to do. I loved sevens as a player and that felt like the best way to go.”

Establishing the Panthers in 2022, Kelly has forged a hugely successful start for his team. In two seasons, the club has welcomed 128 women from across the world and participated in three international competitions, and 23 in the UK.

Leicester’s Zoe Evans, Sale’s Hollie Bawden and Willow Bell, Gloucester-Hartpury’s Lucia Scott and Harlequins’ Lucy Thrope are just some of the big names Kelly has managed to bring in, and the club can now regularly put out two squads at tournaments.

“It’s very different to the men’s game in that you’ll have players participating in tournaments who often play at the very top level,” he added. “The names that we get, the standard that they play, and the attention that comes with it it’s phenomenal.

“The international tournaments have been special. We’ve bonded and made a lot of memories as a club – Dubai in particular was incredible. To take two squads and 26 players out there with one finishing third and another finishing seventh was a brilliant achievement.

“It’s been an incredible two years. If at the beginning when we were at our first tournament in Newbury in May 2022 you’d told me we’d play in three international tournaments within a year and a half of starting I wouldn’t have believed it.”

To reach that goal, Kelly has had to sacrifice a huge amount of time and used his own money to get the project off the ground. Now the time has come to reach out for support both in the running and funding of the club.

“I want to push up again,” he said. “We grew from seven competitions in 2022 to 19 last year and I want to take it higher again, but I don’t think anyone could make that step doing all the work themselves. Finding the right people is the biggest part for me and we’re getting there.

“But inevitably, I am running out of money. Finding sponsorships or investors has become increasingly challenging. Without an income directly sourced for Savvy this year, we will not be able to compete.” And so, Kelly is on a mission to raise funds for the team and support a charity close to his heart.

“Being happy, enjoying life, enjoying rugby, being comfortable in yourself, being comfortable around other people, and believing in yourself is everything in life and in rugby,” he said. “That’s why both the causes of this campaign are so important to me, and why I’m so motivated to get this done.”

To donate to Fin’s run for Savvy Panthers and Bravemind click here.

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