"I arrived in time to meet the England Women’s Squad as they were having lunch. They were not the Amazons I had imagined but a group of relatively ordinary women, but with an awesome commitment to rugby. Most of them have full time jobs, some have a husband and children, and some even find time to study as well!

After some ball handling tuition from coach Gary Street, some of the Squad joined us for some three on two defensive and attacking moves. Then we progressed onto line outs and kicking practice. At 3.30pm the whole squad met on the pitch for a "warm up", which preceded a training session with Loughborough Men’s 1st Team! I took full part in their warm up and was encouraged throughout. It was great to train with them and talk about their lives and the forthcoming World Cup.

When they commenced scrum practice against the men I was happy to stand and watch! Their scrumaging was excellent. Although they were never going to beat the men because of the significant weight ratio difference, their technique was awesome! The scrumaging practice was followed by line out practice while the backs were running moves against their male counterparts. As I left the Squad they were about to start their individual skills session.