Sarah Rendell takes a weekly look at some important women players
THIS WEEK…
LOUGHBOROUGH LIGHTNING AND ENGLAND FLY-HALF
Helena Rowland is competing for the England No.10 shirt with Saracens‘ Zoe Harrison but believes they could form a good double act in midfield for the World Cup this autumn in New Zealand.
Who wears 10 has been been a key talking point since Katy Daley- Mclean retired from international rugby in 2020. Rowland’s preferred position is fly-half but she can also play centre, which she did during England’s autumn campaign.
Rowland thinks both she and Harrison are important to the England side as they offer different options.
“The beauty of it is we are quite different players,” Rowland says. “Zoe is very strategic.
She has a very good kicking and passing game whereas I see myself as more of a running 10. I like to take the ball to the line a bit more. So I think from that point of view, it depends game by game what England want.
“Over the autumn it proved we can be more versatile. If they want both of us on the pitch at the same time then that can happen. I don’t know if one of us will nail down the shirt or if it will be fluid.”
Rowland has been a regular feature in England’s campaigns of late since returning to 15s following the culling of sevens contracts in 2020.
Now she is on a hybrid contract meaning she can play 7s and 15s – but is focusing on the latter for now.
She adds: “This season is really focusing on the World Cup. I probably won’t be playing any sevens until post-World Cup. We will see what happens after that. I’ve not made any decisions either way [to prioritise sevens or 15s]. I do love playing sevens so I haven’t ruled out that possibility but I haven’t made any decisions beyond that yet.”
Rowland played sevens in 2021 and she achieved her dream of competing at an Olympics at the 2020
Tokyo Games where GB finished fourth. She says it was a stressful selection process getting into the squad.
“We had a squad of 20 odd and you know going into it not everyone is going to make it,” she says. “It was intense. Everyday you were fighting for a place on the plane to Tokyo.
You are constantly a little bit on edge and as it got closer more players got cut. It wasn’t just one big cut of seven or eight people at the end.
“It’s crazy looking back on it, just how much it takes out of you. Waiting for that selection and how much you want it, strug- gling to sleep. It brings out the best and the worst in you in those situa- tions.”
However Covid meant Japan was not the experience she hoped for. “We were just allowed in the hotel and to training, so no sight-seeing around Tokyo.”
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