Another member of England’s pack, Hannah Botterman, nearly took a very different path before professional rugby arrived.
“I was a painter and decorator, proper van life,” she told the Barely Rugby podcast. “I was an apprentice for one of my mum’s friends. I was working from 7am until 4pm, then I’d do a night shift at the Harvester.
“The plan with the painting and decorating was that I would take the business on while the woman I worked for would have a baby. But then I got a contract from England and sacked it off, just as I was good enough to do it myself.”
Even the young, modern stars of women’s rugby felt the pinch of a working life when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Several players were made redundant during covid – while the RFU kept the XVs squad on furlough, those on sevens contracts were not.
Meg Jones’ speed, strength, industry and ability to be in the right place at the right time have made her arguably the best player at this World Cup.
But during Covid lockdown, she was contemplating a future working for Amazon.
“Toilet breaks are not really a thing. You’re in at 5am and then you probably leave about 4pm without having to wee,” said Jones, who by then had already been to a Rugby World Cup final. She had started the 2017 defeat by New Zealand at outside centre.
“It was scary. I’d never had another job in my life and suddenly my livelihood had gone. I just thought I was going to be an Amazon delivery driver for the rest of my life.”
On Saturday, Jones and co will instead look to deliver a first World Cup title on home soil for England.
And if so, they will all know just how hard they had to work for that achievement, on and off the field.
