This week, Celtic Dragons netball franchise began the process of revealing its squad for the prospective 2021 season. Having announced that Sophie Morgan will be returning as captain for next year, the franchise can now also reveal that Laura Rudland will be moving over the Severn Bridge from Team Bath for 2021.
Rudland, 25, has impressed in the Superleague in recent seasons. The wing-attack/goal-attack has spent three of the past four years in the blue and gold of Team Bath, with one year spent at Severn Stars in 2018. Rudland was part of two successful Team Bath squads, reaching the Superleague play-offs in both 2017 and 2019.
The University of Bath graduate works as a netball Performance Coach at Millfield School and is currently studying for a postgraduate certificate in digital marketing.
Rudland is looking forwards to her move to Cardiff. She said: “I am so excited to join Celtic Dragons for the 2021 season.
“Dragons have always been a cohesive team who support and work for each other, and I am really looking forward to being a part of that culture. I think that the squad is really exciting.
“It is such a young group and I am looking forward to seeing what we can achieve this year. I think we will learn and grow a lot with each opportunity we get.”
Director of Netball, Tania Hoffman was pleased to have secured the services of Rudland for the upcoming year. She said: “Having Laura join us is a massive boost for the squad. Not only does she provide options at goal-attack and wing-attack, but her knowledge and ability to read the game makes her a huge asset.
“Laura has been around in the Superleague for a few years now and has developed into a really street-smart netballer. She will bring a lot of know-how and experience to the younger members of the group.
“She has been in some great sides in recent years and has experience of reaching play-off netball. Her ability to perform under pressure and make good decisions in the latter stages of a match will be vital when the tiniest mistakes can be severely punished by the opposition.”
