Jillaroos embrace pressure
“PRESSURE makes diamonds.”
Spend any time around the Australian Jillaroos camp in the lead-up to this week’s women’s Rugby League World Cup and you are sure to hear the team’s catchcry.
For a side with everything to play for, they are not only feeling the weight of expectation, they are embracing it.
Personal motivations abound for the squad with cocaptains Renae Kunst and Steph Hancock set to pull down the curtains on their illustrious careers at the tournament’s conclusion.
While retaining the World Cup is the primary motivation for the squad, there is an unspoken resolve to send out Kunst and Hancock as fairytale winners.
The Jillaroos must also face the pressure of defending their title, having well and truly wrestled the mantle of the world’s best side from New Zealand, which won the first three editions of the World Cup in 2000, 2005 and 2008.
The Jillaroos are unbeaten this year and there is an assumption they will get the job done on home soil.
“There’s an expectation and we’re comfortable with the expectation,” coach Brad Donald says when asked if anything less than a World Cup win would be a failure.
“The girls have put the expectation on themselves. They want to be as successful as possible. We’re quite comfortable with the fact that our goal is to retain the World Cup.”
The team has had a troubled build-up with seven of their 24-strong squad having to overcome serious injuries.
Kunst (back), Hancock (knee), Ruan Sims (knee), Brittany Breayley (leg), Karina Brown (hand), Kezie Apps (leg) and Sam Bremner (leg) have all battled problems but proved their fitness for the tournament, which starts today.
Each side will play three pool matches over a seven-day period at Southern Cross Group Stadium with three games scheduled today, Sunday and Tuesday.
The final will be played as a curtain raiser to the men’s world cup final in Brisbane on December 2.
“It’s not ideal but it’s something we’re all managing together,” Donald says of the condensed schedule.
“We’ve got a saying that pressure equals diamonds, that’s our philosophy.”