Leanne Infante's World Cup Column
In her first World Cup column, England scrum half Leanne Infante talks about unwinding after the Red Roses’ win over Fiji, travel sickness and swimming at Whangarei Falls.
It’s tough, leaving everyone behind for the best part of seven weeks and jetting off to the other side of the world. It was such a proud moment for me when I was selected in the squad, but also a realisation of the huge task that lay ahead.
Since that moment life has moved so fast. These last few weeks have been a whirlwind, and before we knew it, we were in the thick of a Rugby World Cup. To be selected in the starting lineup against Fiji and now for France is a huge honour for me – I’ve just got to remember to take in the whole experience and enjoy every moment of it.
WINDING DOWN
My dad asked me after the game if we had a telling-off from the coaches at half time, but my answer was ‘no, not really’. It was a bit of a shock to the system and a wake-up call though because Fiji were so intense.
We had to go straight back to the changing room at full-time because of the other games that were going on. I walked in and Claudia MacDonald was just lying on the floor with cramp in both of her legs, just in absolute agony. There was a lot of that; the girls had put in a mega shift on the pitch and were just wiped out afterwards.
I’m really close with Vickii Cornborough so I went and sat with her after the game. We were all having a bit of a giggle about Maud Muir. There’s a clip of her in the game where she goes to make a tackle, she’s nowhere near and falls over her feet, so we were having a good laugh about that. Some had the music going and there was just a really chilled vibe. Rugby games are such hectic environments so it was great to have that time together to unwind.
ROAD TO WHANGAREI
It was quite a quick turnaround after the game, we left for Whangarei just before midday on Sunday and it was a good few hours away by bus. We stopped about halfway in a really cute little village so there was a chance to stretch our legs and have a look around.
I get travel sickness, so me and Lucy Packer sit at the front of the bus. The roads here in New Zealand are so windy, so we were feeling very grateful for the stop off. It was funny, everyone else was off getting their coffees and the two of us sat on this bench feeling sorry for ourselves and trying not to be sick!
We stopped off at the beach a little further down the road. Some of the girls played cricket and some went in the sea. They tried to get me to come in, but I’m not really a cold water person so I was more than happy just spectating. It could’ve been a bit warmer, but I suppose you can’t have it all.
SETTLING IN
Whangarei is a beautiful place. We were told there wasn’t much here so we were all expecting the worst, but it’s actually a really cute little town. It’s got some great little coffee shops just down the road from our hotel and there’s a really nice vibe around the town. In Auckland you’d see all the other teams and all the fans, people stopping and asking for photos, but we haven’t really had that here.
There’s still a buzz around the place, a lot of shops have got flags up and we’ve seen a few familiar faces. The Scotland team were out having a meal so we bumped into a few of them. It’s nice to catch up outside of the game and experience this place together.
On Wednesday we got to visit Whangarei Falls, which is this incredible 26-metre high waterfall just outside Whangarei and we got to spend some time there (this time they convinced me to go in for a swim). I’ve got this polaroid camera that I’ve brought with me, I’m actually making a scrap book with all of them in which will be a nice way to remember the tour.
Eyes on France
It’s France this week, and training has been pretty intense so it’s nice to have our down time. It’s important to look after our feet with all the time we spend in rugby boots, so a few of us booked ourselves in for pedicures and we’re enjoying having some time for ourselves before we kick back into Friday’s training session.
And then it’ll be game day before we know it! There’s been a lot of talk about this game recently, we know it's going to be a tough one but it’s so good to have Marlie back and raring to go. She’s such a live wire in training and you always know when she’s around, and I know she’s buzzing to get going.
