It was great to beat Ireland in the semi-finals last Sunday. In our camp, we knew there was still more for us to give and we hadn’t shown a full reflection of our capabilities. With it being semi-final rugby it brought a lot of nerves and pressure. For me personally it was my first semi-final or knockout match but the messages were beneficial in the week in terms of going back to what we’re good at and sticking to our processes. Ireland men’s team like to move the ball around and that is just the same for Ireland U20s, they are well drilled and like to find space but we had enough to get the better of them.
Preparing for the final, we had a relaxed first training day, walking through our new plays to make sure we got our knowledge up to speed. The second day we ran the plays at pace, had a couple of high intensity sessions but there was no need to hype up the situation because everyone knew what we were walking into in terms of the task at hand against France.
Our analyst Tom Mitchell and team manager Eliza Ullersperger got all of our families to send in good luck messages which was emotional for everyone. It was really nice for the England senior players like Dan Cole and Marcus Smith to add in their own words as well, so it was nice to know we had great support back home.
Bu hikaye The Rugby Paper dergisinin July 21, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Rugby Paper dergisinin July 21, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
England show who's No.1
ENGLAND women’s head coach John Mitchell says his side will take valuable lessons from the 24-12 win over world champions New Zealand as they build towards their WXV1 title defence.
Skivington: We're going to roll dice and go for it
THE Cherry and Whites are the enigmas of the Premiership.
Looking to go one step beyond this time around
NE small step is what it will take for Bath to go one better than last season and secure the Premiership for the first time, but it would be one of the biggest taken by the club in the professional era.
Four-try England make it 17 wins on the spin
ENGLAND women opened the Allianz Stadium era at HQ with a victory over New Zealand to make it 17 wins on the bounce before their WXV title defence.
Time for Borthwick to prove his worth
HONEYMOON periods are not set in stone and in my estimation Steve Borthwick’s ends this summer. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still in good shape.
Barrington ready to power up the Mob
RICHARD Barrington has signed up to the Ampthill “Mob” reassured that he’ll still have a target on his back most weeks.
Skivington keen to build identity
GLOUCESTER won their first trophy for nine years last season and reached the Challenge Cup final, but when George Skivington went on holiday the day after the campaign ended the words in his head were never again.
Roebuck targets England success
WINNING a maiden England Test cap to top the best season of his career will not be enough for Sale winger Tom Roebuck.
Booth: Tough telling players I was leaving
TOBY Booth admits telling his Ospreys players that he would be leaving at the end of the season was one of the hardest things he has had to do in his career.
Stephens' debut try sees off old rivals
DORKING had to dig deep in another tight game between two old rivals, with the lead changing hands twice and result in doubt right up to the final whistle.