Article by Claire Ellis - Images by Iceni Spears staff
So despite everything my body has been through in the last
24 hours and that I didn’t make it into bed until gone 2am, my body is still
adamant that it won’t let me sleep in past 6am. So here I am sat (a verb used
very loosely) on the sofa watching Premier League highlights of games that I
had genuinely forgotten were even going on yesterday with a large coffee and
snuggled up under a blanket.
My kit bag lying abandoned in the middle of the floor and,
as yet, still not unpacked. Every so often a get a strong whiff of something
strange. Then I remember that is the Tiger
Balm muscle rub that I currently have smothered all over my body. For a thirty-year-old
who is not necessarily in the best shape of her life I don’t feel that
bad…until I try to move anyway! But none of this matters it’s been an awesome
week, so here’s how it went down.
Sunday 21st
Feb
Today is our last contact practice before we head off to Sapphire. Things have been ramped up
and you can see the trepidation and anxiety in the girls’ eyes. Yet everything
is coming together. Cuts are cleaner, catches completed where they were
previously slipping through fingers, hits are harder and confidence is
building. For me, so is the frustration. 6 weeks ago in my very first contact
practice, I went over in a tackle and shredded my ankle. This hurts all the
more as it has happened before. I had finally found a sport, and group of
people, that I love and the opportunity to play was being snatched away from
me. Over the past 6 weeks, I have pushed myself (probably too hard) and have
taken part in as much practice as I can, but now I feel good. Rehab has been
rapid but my ankle is strong. I know my coaches are protecting me by keeping me
side-lined for so much of this final practice session but I can’t help feel
helpless and woefully unprepared for what is to come next week. On the positive
tilt of things, at least I know I am fully fit for six days’ time, even if I’m
not quite sure what I’m letting myself in for!
Tuesday 23rd
Feb
School hall, final walk through. Plays are set. Nerves are
ever present but excitement is building.
Friday 26th
Feb
Bag is packed, unpacked, checked, rechecked and repacked,
and repeat. Anxiety is exhausting. Still awake at gone 1am and know that I have
to be up at 6am. Plays are running endlessly through my head. Feet positon,
hand position, adjustments. I know that no amount of mental rehearsal will
prepare me for that first snap, block or tackle but it helps to calm the
tension I can feel burning in my body. Sleep comes, eventually and fitfully.
Saturday 27th
Feb
6.00am
I wake up to the sounds of my alarm blaring and, for a
second, I forget why it is insisting on yelling at me in such a tone at this
time on a Saturday morning. Then it dawns on me. Today is Sapphire. No other motivation to get out of bed is needed despite
the fuzzy head I have from lack of sleep. I don’t manage breakfast, too much
chance of it making a repeat appearance. Meeting with the other girls and
coaches, nerves and excitement are palpable and clearly visible in the eyes and
mind of everyone there. Our very first competitive contact matches as Iceni Spears, for many of us our first
ever competitive contact matches ever, for me included. The initial buzz slowly
fades after the first half an hour and an anxious silence fills the bus. People
deal with stress and anxiety in different ways. Inane chatter, isolating
themselves with headphones in and music blaring, inappropriate jokes or sitting
quietly with a very green clammy pallor trying not to puke. Our traditional
breakfast stop at Maccy D’s and we’re
on the road again. Next stop London.
11.30am
Preparing for a game in the dressing room with the rest of
your team really opens your eyes to the people you play with. You get to know
them on a whole new level. There is a lot of nakedness, laughter and tears
although not strictly in that order. It’s fair to say that the nerves and
excitement were evident in the slightly haphazard manner of our preparation.
Knickers on inside out, jerseys being put on but pads forgotten, pads being put
on back to front (for anyone who has experience of women’s ‘booby’ pads this is
especially bizarre!) Even the coaches weren’t immune. The inevitable question
of ‘where’s the ball?’ despite it
being tucked under their arm, spoke volumes. Issues ironed out and it was
nearly time to take to the field.
6.00pm
It’s fair to say that the last 5 or so hours have been a bit
of a blur. Despite fighting the urge to puke at the side of the pitch I did
manage to pull myself together enough to make the first snap of our first game
against London Warriors. Nothing
broke, it went as planned and my stomach contents stayed precisely where it was
supposed to.
Snap, block, stop,
huddle, reset. Suddenly, after days of frantic confusion and thought
processes blazing through my brain, my mind was empty except for those simple
steps. Snap, block, stop, huddle, reset.
For a squad of 12 of whom for half it was our first ever match, playing
Warriors was a baptism of fire. Facing a squad with nearly three times as many
players and many years more experience was no mean feat. And we felt it. We
were beaten, but we learnt. We were flattened, but we got back up. We lost, but
we fought.
Every time I set foot on the pitch I was waiting for that
first inevitable heavy hit. Blocking was one thing but being tackled and
flattened by a rampaging herd of four London Warriors, that was quite another.
It happened. Quick reception (I love making receptions in flag and don’t get to
do nearly enough of it at Centre in contact for my liking) then turn and run.
One Warrior, two, Warriors, three Warriors, four. Smash, bang, wallop and
crunch – sounds a little like a new breakfast cereal. Several things went
through my head. Keep hold of the ball.
Will my ankle hold up?
Don’t let go of the ball. What’s that ringing in my head?
Don’t bloody let go of the ball. Ouch that’s another elbow
in the ribs. Where’s the ball?
Thankfully as I pulled myself together and found myself
cushioned quite nicely in a pile of Warriors, as my coach had found earlier in
the day, the ball was still under my arm. Relief. And giggles, much to the confusion
of the opposition. It was great fun. Let’s do it again. Snap, block, receive, smash, get up, smile, huddle and reset.
My biggest regret from the first game is that we didn’t
manage a score. It isn’t a true reflection of the work, dedication and passion
poured into it by all the girls on our team. But we moved on. Game number two,
barely 15 minutes later. Sandwell
Steelers were a new challenge. Again a bigger and more experienced squad.
We could have gone in with our heads down and passions dampened but it couldn’t
have been further from the truth. Again we battled, fought, and gave it
everything we had. It was a game we were always in and scores that were made
gave everyone the lift we needed. I have to mention at this point what a
pleasure Steelers were to play against. There is something incredible about a
sport where you can be aggressively flattened by an opponent in the harshest
way possible only to come to on the floor looking up at a smile and a friendly
hand helping you up. Playing the game in the way we all want to, an absolute
pleasure. Thank you girls. And thank you to Wembley Stallions for being such fabulous hosts.
Despite all the amazing positives from today, we found our
12-woman squad depleted by the final whistle. Three major injuries which will
put players out of the next round in two weeks’ time. A quarter of our players
down. An unavoidable risk in such a demanding and physical game. As we loaded
the bus to return home, one player was already on her way to the hospital with
a knee injury, another being carried onto the bus with a twisted ankle and
another more than happily sucking on Entonox in the back of the medics’
ambulance – ready for a trip back to Norwich
(via the obligatory KFC stop) and a late night visit to A&E. However exhausted,
in pain and frustrated we might have been though, smiles, hugs and laughter
abound. This is what’s it’s all about. The game we love with the people we
love. And my first experience couldn’t have been much better.
At just gone 2am, I finally crawled into bed after returning
from A&E and devouring doughnuts in a nice hot bath. Exhausted but proud.
Bruised and elated.
Sunday 28th
Feb
So here I am finding myself becoming more and more supine on
the sofa as the morning wears on. Nothing could have prepared me for everything
that yesterday threw at me. But I know that come two weeks’ time when we take
to the field for the next round in Portsmouth
I’ll be there with a smile on my face, ready to do it all again with the people
I am proud to call my teammates. Until then, my kit bag should probably be
unpacked, no one likes a damn muddy clothes after they’ve been sat for three
days! This week my bruises will fade and my muscles will return to their normal
non-achy state but the joy and exhilaration of this experience will never fade.
Now, where’s that hot water bottle?
