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Helena Rowland: ‘I thought I was invincible… turns out that’s not true!’
Helena Rowland is expected to be one of the 30 players charged with defending England’s WXV 1 title when John Mitchell names his squad for the tournament on Thursday.
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If her experiences with injury over the past two years have taught her anything, though, then it is not to take such matters for granted.
Rowland was an important part of the team that surged to glory in the inaugural edition of WXV 1 in New Zealand last year, exorcising some of the Red Roses’ Women’s Rugby World Cup demons in the process.
But that was a dazzlingly bright highlight in a two-year period shaped as much by Rowland’s battles with injury as her exploits on the pitch.
The pain caused by torn ankle and foot ligaments, which robbed her of a starring role in the last World Cup final, was palpable. Breaking her finger at the start of this year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations, having worked so dutifully to get back into the team, was no less challenging.
“I think this time round was potentially more frustrating because it was a broken finger,” Rowland tells RugbyPass. “So, once I had it fixed, I could still run, I could do everything but obviously pass or catch or play rugby.
“Ultimately it ended up being 10 weeks before I played again, which felt like a long time for something so small.”
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The lack of reference points or milestones to hit, which had helped Rowland through her previous period of rehab, proved particularly trying.
Her family and Loughborough Lightning head coach Nathan Smith “got the brunt” of those frustrations, Rowland admits, but the two and a half months on the sidelines also provided some time for self-reflection.
That is, in part, why Rowland felt a surge of nerves as she ran out at Kingsholm earlier this month to make her latest comeback, scoring a try in the 38-19 win against France.
“I’ve had a real appreciation over the last couple of years of just how big and how precious those moments are,” she says. “Since the World Cup, I’ve not played a huge amount for various reasons, so to be able to run out for England against France at home and get over the try line, it definitely gives you much more of an appreciation.
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“I probably took playing for granted pre-World Cup and into that period. I’d been involved for a couple of years and played a fair number of matches and been involved in most matchday squads.
“And I think then sitting out of it, rehabbing and whatever else, it does, I suppose, make you think a little bit about actually what you’re doing and how special it is when you do get the opportunity [to play for England].”
Has Rowland grown as a person as a result? “Yeah, definitely,” she adds. “Pulling on the white shirt is always special and that has always been the case.
“I probably thought I was invincible for a while, and it turns out that’s not true! I think I’ve definitely grown from that point of view and really take value in every time that I am fit, and I can take the field and I can do what I love.
“[I’ve] almost got a bigger picture now for it, which is nice. Hopefully I can stay fit for a little bit longer than I have done the last couple of years.
“But you never know what each game is going to bring and how much you’re going to be able to do. And I think [it’s about] just making sure you grab it with both hands when you’ve got the chance and make sure you make the most of that.
“Hopefully it carries on for as long as possible.”
Her enforced absence from the team also enabled Rowland to experience the Red Roses’ home Six Nations matches in different ways.
Rowland enjoyed the victory against Wales at Ashton Gate as a fan, sat alongside her family, but attended the Ireland game in more of a work capacity, providing expert analysis to guests in some of Twickenham’s corporate boxes.
“It’s something that I don’t necessarily find the easiest. I’m quite a quiet person, not usually one for standing up and talking in front of people,” Rowland admits.
“But it’s nice to be involved in a matchday in whatever capacity it is and to share a bit of knowledge, a bit of insight.”
She adds: “As a Red Roses squad, something that we’re very passionate about is getting more people into the game, whether that’s young girls and young boys coming through, or whether that’s people coming to watch who’ve not really been involved in rugby before.
“So, you’ve got the matchday squad on the day doing their thing on the pitch, and then you’ve got your wider squad, particularly at the Twickenham games… doing various bits in boxes, some doing more media stuff, BBC and that sort of stuff and just, I suppose trying to grow all aspects and grow the interest in all areas.
“It’s really exciting. I think it’s come on massively over the last couple of years in terms of what we’ve got available to us and it’s something that’s only going to keep growing. So, we’ve got to keep making the most of these opportunities.”
There is a certain irony in the fact that it was an injury, to Megan Jones, that opened up a route back into John Mitchell’s side for Rowland.
But such is the abundance of quality at the Kiwi coach’s disposal that any fitness worry is countenanced by the number of Test-level players ready to step into the gap.
“There is [depth], more so than probably any squad that I’ve been in. I think we’re at a point where you’ve probably got three players in each position, all of whom can start,” Rowland says.
Having made her England debut as a fly-half, the position she plays for Loughborough, back in 2020, Rowland has made most of her Test starts in the centre and is currently competing with Emily Scarratt for the No.13 jersey.
The versatile playmaker, who celebrates her 25th birthday on Thursday, can also cover full-back, a position in which she most notably excelled, until injury struck, in the World Cup semi-final against Canada two years ago.
So, how does Rowland see herself? “It’s a tough one because ultimately I’ll play wherever they want me to play,” she says.
“I want to play as much as possible, so if that means moving around then that means moving around. Coming into this pre-season I’ve obviously played 10 mostly at club, so I was coming in more in that space but with the knowledge that I could be covering 13, I could be covering 15 depending on what happens in terms of selections, injuries, whatever else.
“So, I was aware that was the case and that I am still very much considered in those positions. I’d like to think I’m a fly-half first and foremost but ultimately, I’ll play wherever.”
Whatever number is on her back, Rowland is an attacking talent and has been enthused by the ‘play-first’ mindset instilled under Mitchell and Lou Meadows.
It is an approach that has yielded results, with a sixth successive Six Nations title added to the WXV 1 crown in the bulging Red Roses trophy cabinet last season. But Rowland believes there is more to come on the road to next year’s home World Cup.
“What’s really exciting is we’re only just touching the surface in terms of this switch in mentality,” she explains. “I think you saw it in bits over the last season and this season we’re really coming into it with that ‘attack it’ mindset.
“So, attacking each game and really trying to play that expansive brand of rugby. And the more we do that, the more comfortable we are with it, the more the combinations start to click.”
Given England are in the midst of a 17-match winning run, that is a sobering thought for the teams preparing to face the Red Roses in Canada.
I reckon given the choice she would be a fly half