Don’t just train, engage your brain | Vicky Fleetwood

ViMost athletes find their sport through family ties. Your parents take you along to watch live sport and you fall in love. For Vicky Fleetwood, this wasn’t the case.

Initially competing in a variety of sports including hockey, netball and athletics, she decided to give rugby a go at school. Vicky’s former school, the John Cleveland College in Leicestershire, has an alumni that includes rugby stars such as Manu Tuilagi, Graham Rowntree and Sam Harrison. So when the coach told her to join a club which he thought she’d go far in, that’s exactly what she did.

“I was getting bored of doing individual stuff with athletics so it was a nice switch over. I just loved it, didn’t look back and decided that rugby was where I wanted to focus my time.”

Having won a Tyrrells Premier 15s title in 2018 with the Saracens and a Rugby World Cup in 2014 with England, it is safe to say she made the right decision!

Women’s rugby is firmly on the rise. HSBC’s Future of Rugby report said that 500,000 new women were picking up the sport annually, making it one of the fastest growing sports in the UK. Vicky believes the formation of the new Tyrrells Premier 15s, England’s domestic women’s rugby league, has had a huge influence on the sport in the UK.

“The Tyrrells Premier 15s has been such a huge
move forward for English women’s rugby.”

“Previously there was a big backlash to how clubs were being pushed out or leaving, but it’s done wonders for the game. The standard is so much higher now, people are fighting for places to get into the first team. Plus having the second team on your heels the whole time is making the game go from strength to strength.

“The Tyrrells Premier 15s has been such a huge move forward for English women’s rugby.”

The RFU have also reintroduced women’s contracts for the 15s squad. But whilst this is a positive move, Vicky is cautious.

“It’s amazing to have those contracts reintroduced. However, in the past when they’ve taken a step forward, people’s year- contracts have been taken away. It’s something that needs to stay for the long term.”

More televised games would play a key role towards pushing the sport forwards. 

“We’re seeing growth in the numbers coming along to watch the games live. We also know there is demand for women’s rugby to be shown on TV more. The only way you’re going to get younger girls to join up and play rugby is by giving them the access to see it. There’s so many girls that play rugby but never watch it.

“If you’re a young girl watching women play rugby, you can directly compare yourself to that. With it being full time with the contracts coming in, it’s something that young girls can aspire to.”

Previously, players have switched between the 15s and 7s squads in their search for contracts. This has not only been at the ‘detriment of performance’, but has also led to many female England internationals returning to full-time employment alongside their sporting career. 

“If you’re a young girl watching women play rugby, you can directly
compare yourself to that. With it being full time with the contracts
coming in, it’s something that young girls can aspire to.”

Vicky is one of them, working as a personal trainer at Clapham’s Reach Gym. She admits working alongside playing is hard, but there are benefits. Engaging her brain, Vicky says, is as important as working on her physical attributes. With her work she has to stay organised, deal with different groups of people and keep them engaged in her sessions.

“I noticed that when I was just rugby, rugby, rugby I was saying really dumb things. We all know that if you’re an elite athlete you can push yourself physically. It’s really important that athletes need to be doing something that pushes them outside of their comfort zone mentally rather than physically.”

Working in a gym means she can go straight from a class into her own training session. This is a luxury not all players can afford as only those involved with the England set-up have contracts.

“This is where the clubs are supporting a lot more. They’re offering sessions before training and then they can go into the training session. At Saracens they’re offering it on a Monday and Wednesday night. It does mean that you’re having to give up your evenings to your sport so it’s a lot of dedication but obviously that is what it takes to be the best.”

“It’s really important that athletes need to be doing
something that pushes them outside of their
comfort zone mentally rather than physically.”

“Through playing rugby, having a strong work ethic is huge for me. Show dedication, whatever it is, show there’s a reason to get out of bed in the morning.”

There’s even more reason to get out of bed when you are a world cup winner. In 2014, England’s women beat Canada in the World Cup final by a score of 21-9. As you would expect, this is Vicky’s proudest moment in sport.

“As soon as the final whistle went it felt like a weight had been lifted. All the camps, the solid training and the fitness we had been put through had paid off. We finally got to reap the rewards. No one is ever going to take that away from you.”

With a new season underway with Saracens and the Quilter Autumn internationals on the horizon, she has a new set of challenges as Vicky moves to her position of flanker.

Vicky’s advice to any young girls getting in to rugby is to ask questions and take feedback, as well as enjoying yourself.

“If you’re silent you are just cruising through, you’re never really going to be pushing yourself. Just enjoy it, that’s the biggest thing. Go and be around people that make you want to work hard and you enjoy being around. If you’re having fun, you play better.”

And if that’s the case, Vicky’s trophy cabinet would suggest she has been having fun for years.

Support top tier women’s rugby. Contact Vicky here: vickyfleetwood1@aol.com

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