Photo: Carisa Weaver (view more) •
The country eagerly awaits the announcement of the USA player pool for the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup. Meanwhile, players have returned to all four corners of the nation to prep for the spring season or return to the training pitch. For some, that means a trip across the Atlantic.
As previously reported, Eagle fullback Jessica Wooden is one of three Americans (Ashley Perry and Kimber Rozier the others) who booted up for the English Premiership this season. The elite competition is longer and more densely populated than its American counterpart, and Wooden has found the experience immensely beneficial.
“The level of play in Premiership is significantly higher than that of the [Women’s Premier League],” wrote Wooden, who added a conversion to Aylesford’s 50-17 win over Richmond Sunday. “A contributing factor to this is the number of competitive fixtures they have in a season – 14 league games plus 5 Senior Cup games followed by, if successful, semis and finals. These, alongside friendlies, mean that we are playing high-level rugby every weekend allowing for a much larger playing squad receiving game time.”
Three more league weekends remain, and third-place Aylesford is well positioned for a post-season showing. The competition takes a break during the Six Nations tournament, as the top players return to their home countries and have the opportunity to play five international tests from February 3 – March 18. The Premiership then resumes on March 26.
For Wooden, obviously, she won’t be competing in the Six Nations, but she’s been using this ample game time “to hone in on my specific positioning work at match intensity,” the fullback noted. She was able to connect with her American teammates during the November test series against France (as did flyhalf Rozier), and flew to Florida for the National All-Star Competition (NASC).
“The NASC was a great opportunity to come together to work on expansion and execution of our game plan. This time together is invaluable leading in to a World Cup year,” Wooden reflected.
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