If you drive through Stalbridge this weekend, you might notice something a little unusual. With England safely home from the World Cup, the red and white flags are still flying along the High Street – 26 of them, in fact.
But they’re not football leftovers.
They’re for Ruby White.
The 19-year-old boxer, who grew up in the tiny North Dorset town, will step into the ring on Monday for her first fight at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow – and her family and community have made sure she won’t be doing it alone.
The idea came from her stepdad, local butcher Julian Else, who wanted to give the town something to rally around.
‘Our Rubes being in the Commonwealth Games! We decided we’d try and do something special – get the town behind her,’ he told Dorset Life. ‘So we asked the houses along the High Street if they would join in – between them we’ve been able to put up 26 flags, to represent the 2026 Games – to wish her well and get the town behind her. The town has kept the England flag on The Ring, too.
‘Everybody’s talking about it. A lot of people are coming into the shop, wishing her luck. She’s got so many people behind her. And not just in Dorset – she’s got quite a following online too now. Everyone’s rooting for her.’
Ruby’s first bout is against Thandolwethu Mathiba of South Africa at 6.15pm on Monday, with the competition moving quickly through the week. Win, and she’s straight into the quarter-finals, with a potential medal fight by the following weekend.
For her family, it’s all happening fast:
‘It’s Monday, then Wednesday, then Friday,’ says her mum, Heidi. ‘She knows most of her opponents. The hardest one, she thinks, is India’s Chanchal Chaudhary. Ruby beat her last year, in the Under-19 World Boxing Championship final. But who knows? Everybody’s studied her now, haven’t they?’
For Stalbridge, though, the result almost feels secondary. This is a town getting behind one of its own – and making sure she knows it.
‘She’s put Stalbridge on the map,’ says Julian.
With flags lining the street and conversations turning to fight times and opponents, there’s a quiet sense in the community that something bigger is building.
Ruby White steps into the ring on Monday: if the past few days are anything to go by, she’ll have the whole of Dorset behind her.
The Commonwealth Games will be streamed on TNT Sports.
