After missing part of the season due to being pregnant, Rachael Boyle has reflected on a whirlwind campaign with Hibs, her time away with Scotland and coming up against her hometown club, Aberdeen.
The former Northfield Academy pupil announced she was expecting her second child in March, before her side went on to finish fourth in SWPL 1, 17 points behind Celtic in third.
Before her season in green and white was cut short, highlights included scoring in both Ediburgh derbies, which were played at Easter Road and Tynecastle, with the former setting a new attendance record.
Her performances in midfield for the Hibees also helped her get back to the national team, and she went on to make six appearances under new Scotland boss Pedro Martinez Losa.
Boyle, 30, admits it’s been difficult being on the sidelines after performing well for club and country, but is looking forward to welcoming a new addition to her family later this year.
She said: “Every time I played, I thought I was doing well and managed to get myself into the starting line-up of the national team.
“I was really enjoying the season – although it was difficult with some of the results we (Hibs) had – but circumstances took me on a different course this season.
“It’s exciting, but it has been difficult to stand at the side and watch. The game is getting bigger and better and it’s something you want to be a part of.
“I’m looking forward to welcoming our second child and then hopefully I’ll be able to get back on the pitch quicker than last time.”
Boyle knows the demands of getting back to full fitness post-pregnancy, having returned to elite level football after giving birth to her daughter Amelia in 2018.
She wants to be back playing football sooner rather than later, and hopes she will be able to do that with the help of her club.
Hibernian are looking likely to offer more players full-time professional football next season, although Boyle hasn’t had that conversation yet.
She said: “I’ve given myself targets to get back playing. Whether I match them I have no idea – I’m not going to put any pressure on myself.
“But I’ve done it once and I’ll certainly do it again – especially if I’m given the opportunity to train full-time.
“If I get that opportunity within the club then I would like to take it and hopefully that would help me get back on the pitch quicker than last time.”
While she has been unable to get out on the pitch, Boyle turned her hand to commentary, becoming a regular voice on BBC Alba’s live football coverage.
She was in the gantry for several SWPL 1 games, including high profile clashes at Celtic Park and Ibrox, the Scottish Women’s cup final, and Scotland’s Pinatar Cup campaign.
Boyle said: “I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve been going to games anyway so to then commentate and give my opinion on the whole thing – it’s been a good learning curve.
“I’ve learned a lot from watching the game from a different perspective rather than being on the touchline or on the pitch.
A very enjoyable experience joining the team @bbcalba on co-comms for Cup Final day! The season couldn’t have ended with a more entertaining game! Congratulations to @CelticFCWomen 🏆 pic.twitter.com/TrNhvmMK4K
— Rachael Boyle (@RachBoyle23) May 29, 2022
“You see how they play a lot more clearly from high up than you do when you’re standing 1 v 1 against your opponents.
“It’s all about trying not to be biased towards your own team – but I think I’ve gone the other way.
“I’m more critical when I’m doing the Hibs games because I know what the players are capable of.
“If I can keep doing the commentary and keep myself involved with the women’s game while I’m on the sidelines, that’d be fantastic.”
‘An honour’ to be back in a Scotland shirt
Boyle’s Scotland caps increased by six to 43 in 2021, which was joint third most-capped campaign since her debut in 2010, after becoming a regular name in Martinez Losa’s squads.
Despite being a late addition to the Spaniard’s first national camp, she then featured in five World Cup qualifiers and the friendly against Sweden, starting in three of those six games.
It was a surprising but exciting turn of events for Boyle, who had been frozen out of the national team from Martinez Losa’s interim predecessor Stuart McLaren.
She said: “I dropped everything to be there and never regretted it. When I walked in the door, Pedro was very honest and straightforward.
“He appreciated the fact I made the effort to go and drop everything, but said there was a chance that I wouldn’t be in every one of his squads.
“He told me that I might be more of a squad player and it was up to me to handle that.
“I appreciated his honesty and felt like I did deal with that. For me to then be called up to every other squad, it was an honour.
“To then start playing games and being named in the starting XI, it felt fantastic that I’d managed to get myself back to the level that I’d once been at.”
Boyle won’t play a part in the last two remaining qualifiers against Ukraine and the Faroe Islands, which Martinez Losa’s squad need to win to finish second in the group.
She reckons that Scotland are starting to play with a clear style under the Spaniard, which puts them in a good place ahead of the crunch games.
Boyle said: “Pedro is trying to build something and I think you can see that starting to come to fruition now.
“You can see what he’s trying to put in place is starting to work and it’s exciting going into the remaining games of the campaign, and hopefully, the girls can do the business.”
If Scotland make it to Australia and New Zealand next year, Boyle could be in contention to make her first appearance at a senior major tournament.
After missing out on the Euros in 2017 and World Cup in 2019, potentially playing on football’s biggest stage is a prospect she’s already excited about.
Boyle added: “It would be huge. I’ve never been to one of the major tournaments – I’m starting to think it’s me that’s causing the issue!
“What an occasion that would be – playing on the other side of the world against the best teams and best players.”
Coming up against her hometown club
The 21/22 season was the first campaign since 2017 that Boyle lined up opposite Aberdeen, who she left to join the Hibees in 2o16.
She came back to haunt her old side in the SWPL Cup, with her first-half brace enough to dump the Dons out the league cup at the quarter-final stage.
However, Aberdeen got their revenge and beat Hibs 1-0 in the league at Balmoral Stadium in February.
Although Boyle wasn’t involved in that game, she has enjoyed coming up against her hometown club again, which has seen her share the the pitch with some familiar faces.
She said: “One of my best friends (Loren Campbell) still plays for Aberdeen, so it’s been quite good coming up against her. Although it’s been competitive, we always seem to have a laugh about it as well.
“I think they’ve been excellent, and obviously caused Hibs some problems. I did personally enjoy the game where I scored the two goals – I never lived that one down.
“We’re both quite evenly matched so you know it’s always going to be one of those games that on the day any team can take the points.”
Having grown up in the north and having turned out for the Dons, Boyle knows that their recent developments is important for the future of the women’s game.
She added: “It’s fantastic they’re trying to get in the right direction by going semi-pro and offering players paid contracts. It’s exciting to see because it’s been long overdue.
“We had a season when I was at Aberdeen where we just missed out on third, and we felt as a club that that was our best season.
“We never really got the rewards that the squad deserved.
“To see it happen now and for the generation coming through, hopefully, Aberdeen can continue on that upward trajectory.
“To come up and finish fifth in their first season back in SWPL 1, it’s a fantastic foundation and one I’m sure they’ll want to build on.”
