by Victoria McCollSeriously competing for a spot at the Rugby World Cup was not something that I had planned to do in the first few months of returning back to Singapore from Canada. Never would I have imagined myself training, playing and travelling with a team of highly dedicated, motivated, and fun-loving Singaporean women to compete at the highest level that Singapore Women's Rugby has ever been at - Division 1.
The experience of being in Kazakhstan with the team was phenomenal. When I was picked to go to Kazakhstan with the national team, I was excited and nervous at the same time. As a rookie on the team, I was excited to be a part of this team of amazing girls and also worried that I would not be able to play at the standard that some of my seniors were playing at. Training with the team in Singapore showed me how dedicated my teammates were to putting in the effort and work on and off the field to ensure that we would be at our best when we faced our competition in Kazakhstan. What inspired me most was the strong belief that our coach, Danny Tauroa, and seniors had for our team to make a big impact in Kazakhstan – to not come home empty handed. Eventually, my confidence in myself was built up because I knew that I had a team that supported me and that we were aiming towards the same goal.
My most memorable moment with the team was the day of the match with Hong Kong. I was going to start as no. 3, tight head prop, for the game and I was not confident in my position at all. I’ve always played and practiced as a lock, and prop on few occasions. When I was named to start as a prop, I was a little terrified. I felt that I had not practiced enough at this position and that I would be letting my teammates down if I were to play as a prop for the game that would decide whether or not we would be staying in Division 1 Women’s Rugby. The pressure was on. Half of me knew that I could do this and that I had the capability to perform my role competently for the team. The other half of me had doubts about my ability to hold up or push in the scrum. Adding to that, my neck was already hurting really badly from the scrums that we had practiced that morning.
Right before the game, I was trying to hold in the tears that I had; the pressure that I was feeling about my role and what I had to do. My teammates noticed and came to my side to encourage me and comfort me in the fact that they would be there on the field with me in the game and that I would not be alone. This helped me lift my head up, knowing that I was not alone on the field, and because of this, I was able to push forward and do my best. After the warm up, I was determined to play the game and beat Hong Kong together with my team.
The game was difficult and challenging. We all knew that Hong Kong was not going to make it an easy game to play. The first 40 minutes were hard for us, especially since it seemed like we were being given penalties every 3 minutes. I took the advice of my roommate, Tao Jing, and picked the specific areas of the game that I wanted to focus most of my energy on, which were holding up and driving in the scrum and drifting across fast on defence. After I came off at about 60 minutes, my neck was so sore but I knew that I had done the best that I could for my team in those 60 minutes. I put in my all for them.
When it came to the end, seeing Christabelle successfully kick the conversion and knowing that we had won the game was one of the best moments in my life, ever. Knowing that all our hard work and sacrifices individually and as a team had paid off was such a great feeling. It was over, and we had won because of our patience, our perseverance and effort.
What I’ve taken away from this experience with the national team is much more than just sharing the win with a great team of women. I am taking away the strong work ethic that we had as a team, working hard on the field and taking care of ourselves off the field. I am emerging forward as a stronger player mentally and physically. I am coming away believing that big dreams can become reality.
As this week in Kazakhstan comes to a close, another chapter of Singapore Women's Rugby has been written into history - and I was privileged enough to be a part of. And in the words of Britney: 'Now I'm stronger than yesterday.' Stronger as a player, stronger as a person, ready to take on life in a new light as a fighter, never giving up till the end.
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