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WXV week one: 'I can’t wait to get out there with the girls'
First week in Vancouver complete and it’s been a great first week.
Although the weather hasn’t been on our side, it hasn’t stopped us attacking the week. We landed in the city at about 3 pm on Friday and had the challenge of staying up for the rest of the day.
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Most of us took this as an opportunity to go shopping. There’s a great mix of shops, from your everyday brands that you’d go for at home (but a bit cheaper) to thrift shops and quirky stores where you’d find Ellie Kildunne finding outfits that no other Red Rose would pull off!
On Saturday, we headed out for a coffee at the local coffee shop. Most of us had quite a disrupted sleep but the fact we were all in the same boat made it easier to get through the day. In the afternoon we headed to Capilano Suspension Bridge which was a great experience.
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When you’re on tour abroad you try and do things that you couldn’t do at home and make memories. The bridge was wobblier than I expected but standing in the middle of the trees with the sun going down was magical – all quickly interrupted by a bunch of rugby girls getting told off for trying to make the bridge sway!
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On Sunday we did a short skills session just to get our eye on the ball. This session always surprises you because you think you’ve got over jet lag but your limbs are saying otherwise! There were a lot of dropped balls and clumsy moments but that’s why we do it. We also did some pool recovery and a small gym session to get our body moving. I felt a lot better for it and managed to get a better sleep.
We had our first training session on Tuesday and it was good to get a hit out. It was pouring down but we managed to put some successful passages of play together. We don’t face USA regularly so it always poses a new question as to what they are going to offer. We know that they are an athletic team and will give their all for 80 minutes so it’s about nullifying their early and taking away their heart.
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I’m really excited to be playing on the weekend. It’s been five months since I last played, where I broke my thumb in the warm-up against Ireland in the Six Nations.
It’s always an honour to represent your country and I can’t wait to get out there with the girls on the weekend. For me it’s just about enjoying playing rugby again. I want to be in the moment, sing the anthem with pride, play some good rugby and then celebrate with my teammates and my mum and dad who have made the journey to be here. That’s what it’s all about.
So with that.. make sure you support us on Sunday, the game kicks off at 20:30 BST and will be shown on BBC iPlayer, or if you’ve made the trip to Canada, we’ll see you at BC Place at 12:30!
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Tickets are available here, and fans can also watch the game on RugbyPass TV if it’s not shown by the local broadcaster.
