Two wins from two! Kazakhstan were our second pool game opponents and we beat them 82-0. It was a tough game as Kazakhstan are a big, physical side but we stuck to our game plan for the full 80 minutes and were able to get the win and the bonus point.

There were some nerves going into the game. There will be in every world cup game, but it definitely felt better than our first game against Ireland. Some of the errors that we made against Kazakhstan were frustrating, but to still put a score like that up, against a hard, physical team is a good start to where we want to go when we play USA this Saturday, kick off 6.30pm at Surrey Sports Park.

To give Kazakhstan credit they played an intense game from start to finish so being able to stick to our game plan and score tries is a massive positive for us. I think because they are an unknown we were told to play what we saw in front of us and that’s just the kind of rugby that we like to play so it really worked for us.

The crowd gave us huge support. It felt just as good as it did when we played against Ireland. Hearing all the singing and cheering was incredible. To run out to that kind of support gives you that extra bit of a boost which is just what you need playing on home soil.

I have a day off now and I’ve nothing planned! I’m a bit sore after the match so I’m looking forward to getting some rest and relaxation! I might go to the cinema with some of the girls, but I really just want to get the feet up and start thinking about the USA game.

We’re completely focused on USA now. We want to go out there and get the win first and foremost and if we can get the bonus point then great. We know they’re a hard, physical team – we learned that last year in August when we played them in the Nations Cup – so we just need to make sure we get our homework done on the training pitch and then get out there and put it into the game.

All of the squad is still having a great time. There’s a great buzz between the players and management. We’re really enjoying ourselves which we’ve got to do, otherwise it’ll fly by and we’d look back and think we missed out on a brilliant experience together. On the way to training we’re singing and we’re the noisiest table at breakfast, dinner and lunch! You’ve got to enjoy these things because if you don’t there’s no point being in them.

Rachael Burford

So here we go, World Cup 2010, Happy Days! You know it’s the beginning of a classic campaign when your only 2 hours in our apartments and the girls have already decorated the inside and out of the apartment block with tri colour flags, bunting, balloons and even shiny green wrapping paper on the windows. Who needs sun light!
First few training sessions were packed full with tactical drills. Girls were settling their nerves, the coaches were putting more emphasis on certain areas that we were going to focus on for the competition. Nothing better to settle things down though, by playing a bit of Gaelic football. Few of our girls have played inter county football, Eliza Downy captained Down and is an All Star, Mairead Kelly for the mighty rebels, Nora Stapelton , Niamh Briggs and Jackie Sheils. Our Sox were repositioned around the ankles, elbows redirected outwards and the mighty throw in between myself at 5ft 3inches and Maz at 6ft 3inches seemed like a natural opening to a ‘Fair’ and ‘Friendly’ game.

On Friday at 6.30 we had our opening game against England, live on Sky Sports 2. Difficult opening game for obvious reasons but, by Jesus was it exciting? I have played England over ten times and I can honestly say the feeling I had going into this game was one I’ve never felt before. I have always been nervous before England games in the past. For this game however, man, I was so excited! Our training build up has been sensational. The coaches pushed our boundaries in every single session. We were forced out of our comfort zone every training. We’ve been rethinking our whole approach to the game and finally come match day we’ve a chance to put this into action..Quality!
The game itself was unreal. So competitive, so physical, full on for 80 mins. As always with England, they punish even minor slips which cost us the game. Our girls fought for every inch of possession and took each tackle with a ‘do or die’ approach. Although we lost the game, I was so proud of every one those girls for their unrelenting effort. We know we have it in us, the type of rugby we want to play is at our fingertips. God bless America!

Lynne Cantwell