A 22–12 win over Galil Elyon in the final sealed the Women’s Rugby Sevens tournament at Wingate (the Olympic format of the game), but the defining moment belonged to Jessica Tolshin: a return after childbirth, and a message inviting more women back onto the pitch.
Maccabi Tel Aviv Rugby Club capped a successful day at the Wingate Institute by claiming the Women’s Rugby Sevens title, following a 22–12 victory over Galil Elyon Bees in the final. In rugby sevens, the Olympic format of the sport, there is little margin for error, and Maccabi were sharp, efficient, and above all consistent throughout the day, lifting the trophy at the final whistle.
Then, just after that final whistle, came the moment that truly captured the spirit of rugby. During the closing ceremony, host Michal sabato congratulated Jessica Tolshin, a Maccabi Tel Aviv and Israel national team player, on her return to the pitch after giving birth. Tolshin spoke about the inspiration she drew from mothers who had made their own comebacks, and turned her story into an open invitation for others: “The mothers who returned to play after childbirth inspired me. Now I want to inspire more women to return to sport after giving birth.” Moments later, fellow player-mothers joined her for a shared moment, a single image that perfectly summed up the entire day: competition on the grass, and genuine connection beyond it.
Tolshin (33), a resident of Ramat Gan, immigrated from Belgium in 2010. Together with her husband, a rugby player since the age of four who immigrated from Argentina, she founded and manages Fluent House of Languages, a community-based language school. She came to rugby at 24, after initially hesitating due to gender stereotypes, and has since spent nine years with Maccabi Tel Aviv and eight years with the Israel national team. This was not her first comeback either: in the past, she returned to the pitch after knee surgery and a long rehabilitation, following a year away from the game.
At the end of a day in which Maccabi Tel Aviv won on the pitch, Jessica Tolshin delivered a different kind of victory, one that widens the field for those still finding their way back.
