Wearing the England shirt is still a massive honour for me, says Packer

The back-rower tells Fiona Tomas how recent dark days have made her even more determined

Before Marlie Packer starts any rugby game, her phone lights up with a text ending with the hashtag onlyagirl. Courtesy of a family friend, the mantra has become immortalised into a pre-match reading ritual for the England back-rower, who started out as a five-year-old at Ivel Barbarians, now known as Yeovil Rugby Club.

“At secondary school, they let me play in the year seven boys’ team,” Packer sayss. “I wasn’t fazed – the boys weren’t either – because they’d always known I’d played rugby. But when we went to play other schools, dads would shout, ‘She’s only a girl, tackle her!’”

Like many of her Red Roses peers, the Saracens player hails from a generation for whom mixed junior-grade rugby was the norm for women and girls wanting to give the oval-shaped game a try. It is a far cry from today, when 37,000 are registered at clubs across England, more than double the number five years ago.

Despite enjoying a prolific career for England Under-20s – Packer captained the side – her crossover to senior level required greater

When we do shirt presentations and you hear the amount of caps called out for you, it’s still a massive honour.”

But last year Packer feared for her future. She was involved in a serious car accident. She had been two times over the legal limit and was convicted of drink-driving. Twelve months on Packer makes no attempt to plaster over what happened, admitting: “It was tough having no control over what the media wrote about me … what people thought or said.”

But she has emerged from that darkness as a stronger and more resilient person, determined to be an educator for others.

“It’s something I’ve had to learn to deal with. I faced the consequences of my own actions, but my team-mates have backed me. I’m here now and I’m here to do a job.”

It is a job which, only two years ago, the industrious Packer juggled alongside her career as a plumber, having completed her apprenticeship between first and second international appearances.

But as the third most-capped forward in Simon Middleton’s squad behind club team-mate Vicky Fleetwood (68) and captain Sarah Hunter (116), Packer is already a key part of the coach’s plans for the 2021 World Cup.

“That’s my target,” she said. “I want to be there to get the gold medal and then I’ll re-evaluate after that.”