WOMEN'S GAME IN FOCUS
Sarah Rendell takes a weekly look at some important women players
Claudia MacDonald has had a whirlwind rugby journey. The Wasps and England scrum-half only started in the sport aged 19 at Durham University and through the uni’s link to Premier 15s club DMP Durham Sharks, she was in the top flight just three seasons into her career.
Her first season with the Sharks saw her spotted by the England coaches who convinced her to switch from wing/full-back to No.9.
She signed for Wasps ahead of the 2018-19 season, earning her first England cap shortly afterwards, and was awarded a full-time contract in January 2019.
“When you’re living it, you expect it to move at that speed because you want everything,” says the 25-year-old, who played in England’s win over New Zealand last Sunday. “People say I want tomorrow, today; I always want what the next big thing is and I really wanted to play in the Premiership. I want to always be a better player and I want our team to do well.
“But if I stood at the start of the story, I never would have anticipated the speed and momentum that has carried things forward.
“Having said that, at the time things weren’t quick enough! You always want to play more.
“I sat on the bench for England a few times, only getting a few minutes here or there, and that has happened more recently too. So things look faster and more developed on paper than they potentially feel when you’re living it.” MacDonald started in England’s emphatic win last weekend. They face New Zealand again today, followed by Canada and the USA. MacDonald says these matches will be hugely valuable for their prep for next year’s postponed World Cup. She adds: “The Six Nations every year gives us a real opportunity to challenge ourselves and see where we are at, but these autumns Tests against New Zealand, Canada and the USA give us a slightly different flavour to challenge ourselves again.
“We expect to play a different style of rugby and know there’s a bit of a difference in how they play the game. That presents us with a different challenge. “That is going to be so important going into the World Cup when we come up against teams like South Africa (who England haven’t played since 2013). To know we’ve faced different problems on the pitch and we’ve come up with solutions to those will be so important. “We’ve been training incredibly hard recently. We have a new style of training and it is a great opportunity to see how it works.”