Ann O'Flynn on
tour with the Women's England Rugby Team in New Zealand
This is where the business end of tour gets going. Our coaches
are keen to know where we are now against the reigning world
champions and of course, we all want to play well and beat them.
After the midweek game the mood around the squad definitely got more
serious. During the NZ A game we picked up another quite serious
injury, one of our new exciting players Amy Turner had her hand
stamped on and x-rays after the game confirmed she has broken a bone
in her hand - it swelled up straight away, so we all were suspecting
the worst. Two other girls went for x-rays but thankfully they are in
the clear. Amy could still be available for the last test match, but
is ruled out of the first one as her hand is just too sore. The
coach has already told me that Selena is starting this match as
hooker, and due to the fact that I only played 2 days ago I am
pretty sure the coach will put the other hooker on the bench. The
team is announced the morning after the game as we have such a short
time to turn around the new team and face the Black Ferns, and as I
thought I'm not involved. However, as always the time before the
team is announced is tense and players are anxious to know if they
are starting. The team is read out just before we depart for
training that morning, a few surprises and a few shocked faces. As
always players stick by our Players' Charter in which we say it is
the responsibility of the non-selected player in any position to
approach the person who is selected to congratulate them when they
are ready. Obviously it's tough for everyone but we must support
each other at these times if we are to succeed as a team. Anyway you
can sure tell by the coaches' behaviour and comments that they are
getting a little stressed about this fixture - suddenly they become
a little less easy going and start pulling players aside for
discreet little chats at each meal, and our 'rest morning' on
Thursday now has a forwards lineout practice session in it! The
backs also have an extra training session at the local rugby club,
the forwards are made to train in a bit more privacy, (to keep our
lineouts a well kept secret).
After every session we are still continuing with our ice bath
sessions, much to the amusement of the other hotel guests...in fact
I'm sure some of them just sit and wait for us to return at 4.30
each afternoon so they can have a good laugh at our expense!! It
must look very silly as they sit there, with beers in hand in the
spa pool, as we crazily sit in a bath of ice cubes and freezing
water, not just once but three times in a row (we do a minute in,
then a minute out 3 times in order to flush out the lactic acid and
metabolite by-products from training out of our muscles). Maybe we
could get a refund from the hotel for providing entertainment!!
Friday's preparation is the same as before, enforced rest, medical
appointments and massages in the morning, a big lunch then off to
the ground in the afternoon for the team run-through. As before we
try and get there close to match time. This time we are playing
in a big arena - as a curtain raiser for the NPC final, Eden Park,
the premier rugby stadium in Auckland where the Lions played this
summer. The NPC final is the finale of the men's premier season -
it's like their Premiership final playoffs. Although there's not
been much advertising, the game is going out live on Sky around New
Zealand and highlights are going out back home too. It's been
raining all afternoon but you can still see it's a fantastic ground
and we get a chance to walk around, familiarise ourselves with its
feel. As an NPR I take the chance to find a good spot for filming -
the coach has tasked each of us with videoing a player on the NZ
team for half the game - it will give us valuable footage for the
World Cup next year. The only hold-up all day is the journey home. It
is the equivalent of Bank Holiday weekend so the entire
population of Auckland appears to be fleeing the city; we are stuck
in traffic for an hour - feels just like the M25 on a Friday evening!
On Saturday I spend the morning plaiting other players' hair again,
and then I leave with the 'advance party' of management and medics
to set up the changing room for the team. We put up England flags,
set out all the kit and recovery drinks for after the game, prepare
the ice bath, set up the medical corner and wait for the team. Even
before the players arrive there is a palpable atmosphere of
excitement - we all want to play too!!
The game starts well for us, we get a penalty early on but they
match it. Then they score a great try, cutting though our backs with
some resolute running, they convert from the sideline and are well
ahead. We regain some pressure and get a 5m scrum - but we don't
handle it well and we pick up too early and they drive us back -
turnover! As the game progresses we seem to not be competing hard
enough at tackles and around the park - it's frustrating to see - we
miss more and more tackles, that's not like us!! At half-time we are
still in the game but the second half start kills us - we let them
run way too much and our kicks aren't good - we miss touch too many
times and their full-back has a field day running it back at us. All
their backs are big strong Maori girls who attack well and their
handling skills are first rate. By the end of the game we have stood
off them too much and despite some good periods and a last minute
consolation try we are well beaten 33-8. The team is gutted as we
just didn't play well and never looked like we were in the game. Our
coaches are seemingly furious, they don't come to the changing room
after the game, we take the hint and no player goes near them. So
after grabbing what food we can in the changing room (again it's
sandwiches and fruit - no after match meal) the coach trip home is a
quiet sombre affair. It's a mixed feeling for me, the lineouts were
really bad, a lot of bad throws - either not straight or overthrows
- so a part of me is pleased that one of my competitors didn't
outplay me in this particular facet of the game, but on the other
hand I am gutted the team didn't play well for us all. It's hard to
explain but if you're a sportsperson, you'll know what I mean!
Ann 28 October 2005
Previous email
This tour is certainly moving on fast now, after days of training
and preparation, once the games get going the days just seem to fly!
The team for our 2nd match was announced and as the coach promised
in our earlier chat, I am in the starting line-up for the match vs.
the NZ 'A' team. The Kiwis are calling it an "Invitational
XV game" - but we are pretty sure it is their A team, they don't
have a lot of depth due to lower player numbers.
The NZ A game was played at North Harbour Stadium, but sadly on an
outside pitch, this is the home of a local soccer team - the Knights
- but it is commonly used for other sports, and rugby quite
frequently. In fact it is the place that England women last beat NZ,
on their trip 4 years ago - it was a memorable game for the players
involved as they played as a curtainrasier for the men's NZ v Samoa
game and they had a full house crowd of 42,000. Sadly on this
occasion we were shoved onto an outside pitch. No big deal was made
of the fact that we were a visiting international side - in fact the
NZ team hadn't even given us a traditional NZ or Maori welcome,
which is the usual practice whenever a team comes on tour to NZ. We
were keen to not focus on them and what they were doing, but it did
feel odd to be playing outside an empty stadium which the team had
previously played in, and the pitch was on public land - so anyone
could just drive by and see the game, but we felt the New Zealanders
were very keen to play it down.
As usual we had a light day the day before the game, rest in the
morning with medical appointments for physio treatment and massages
in preparation for the match. It's hard to keep your mind off the
next day, but really we need to not think about the match too much
at this point. We read and relax in the morning, pop to the nearby
shops, have lunch together and then get ready for the last team run
before the game. We always try to have a light run-through exactly
24hrs before the game, so we know how the light will be, what the
sun will be doing which is important for hookers and kickers, and
then get an idea of the noise/wind and timings for tomorrow. Our
team run went well, although it was clear the wind would be a big
factor - a storm was brewing and a strong wind was picking up; it
took me a few throws to get used to the unidirectional assistance on
my throw, but I soon tuned into it.
That night we had a team meeting to review our game plan, remind
ourselves of our performance goals and we had the shirts presented
to the team - it's always an emotional moment as the team is read
out and you walk up in front of all your team mates to collect that
precious white shirt with a red rose on the chest. As always, I am
very proud. The next morning comes quickly and we soon get into
match day preparation. I listen to my own motivational CD, get some
time alone to read my Bible and pray - I need to get the right
perspective on things.
As we thought, the wind was a huge factor, we played with the wind
in the first half and kept them pinned in to a corner for about 75%
of the time. They got an early penalty but we worked hard on our
scrums and lineouts and began to dominate from the outset - it was a
battle for sure but we were the more cohesive unit, and we began to
give great balls to our backs to play with. They duly delivered and
we notched up 40 points by half time.
However, it was a very different story in the second half, they came
out all guns blazing and the wind had got worse, any kick we tried
to do got blown back in our face or over our heads. It came down to
the forwards to drive the ball up in hand, maul after maul; ruck
after ruck. This was absolutely knackering as you can imagine, and
if we made a single error all their fly-half did was kick it back
into that bottom corner, so we had to turn, run back, collect the
ball and do it all over again!! I began to feel like I was running
in treacle...we all were!
We didn't score another point in the second half, although we came
very close, but they sneaked in a try in the last 5 minutes when we
had got all our suns on - we had lost a little bit of shape due to
all the changes- so it ended 40-8. I had a good game, hit all but 2
of my lineouts, one was too short and one not-straight (misjudged
the wind!), the game started so fast we were all playing catch-up
early on. I made some good hits on rucks, but missed a tackle when I
should have nailed her, a steady but not show-stopping game, but
quite enjoyable; I stayed on for 67 minutes and then was subbed off.
After the match the 'low key' nature of this fixture continued,
there was no after match function, no sit down meal, we just had a
few plates of sandwiches in the changing rooms and some bananas. The
match officials were presented with their thank you gifts in the
tunnel which leads out onto the pitch!! I can't remember the last
time I played a game in any sport, at any level when there wasn't
food shared between the teams afterwards, it felt very wrong and not
in the spirit of the game. Annoyingly, one of our players told us
afterwards that in conversation with one of the opposition who she
knew from her club team, the NZ girls had been told we (England)
didn't want an after-match function as we had to get back and re-hab
for the next game!! More mind games by the NZ coaches...must be a
sign they are worried!!
26 October
Previous email
This week has dragged a little. lots of training,
pool recovery work, ice baths,(!) skills sessions, ankle rehab for
me and quite a bit of eating has been the order of the day. It has
been quite strange adapting to a full-time rugby player schedule,
we've had a fair bit of time to rest, read or watch TV - which feels
really odd. I feel like I should be doing something!!
All the build up these last few days has been in preparation for the
first game v Samoa. I knew that I was a non-playing reserve (NPR)
for this game but I am starting the next game against NZ 'A' team on
Wednesday, so I was trying to be as helpful as possible, without
getting in the way and getting too excited about playing. it was
hard, but I spent all Saturday morning plaiting hair!!
It sounds daft but it makes a real difference if you haven't got to
think about what your hair is doing and it keeps out of your eyes!!
It was good to feel useful rather than sat about waiting for game
time when I was not playing!
The game was at the Erikson Stadium, on the far side of Auckland. We
were playing after the men's Samoa final trial game, they had been
trialling all week and their game was their culmination of the
week's work. As for the girls, they had only got together for the
first time that week although a lot of them play in the NZ women's
league regularly. The game report is on the
RFU website, but basically it
was a bruising and tough encounter that we won 53-0, some really big
hits, as you can imagine!! However, our superior fitness and
handling skills wore them down, but they were a good side! They
would easily beat half the teams in the 6 Nations - only Scotland
and France would come close I reckon. They are seeded 12th in the
next World Cup but they are so much better than that!!
The men's team had been playing all week in a
Pacific Rugby Festival and they played their final trial game as
the curtain raiser to our inaugural England Women v Manusina Samoa
international, it was a clear indication of the esteem in which the
Samoan men hold their women's team and it was lovely to see.
