Charles: That’s always a conversation. And I would say the generation that’s coming through now will have it even better than us, and that’s what we’re striving for in the women’s game.
When I speak to Lucy Bronze, she talks of working two jobs and doing loads of different things to get to the professional point now.
I see her in meetings, advocating for how much the women’s game is growing. The revenues have grown, the investments are growing and she’s really at the forefront of that because she’s had to battle.
The women’s game has grown and I think 20-year-old Lucy wouldn’t believe what it would be now.
She’s been massive in forcing the women’s game to keep up with how it’s growing, she’s pushing it, but also advocating for what we deserve and making sure that we’re growing and it’s sustainable.
Kildunne: As a team you don’t really see an age. I know that there’s girls who have been through two World Cups and for some, this will be their first World Cup. So we do a lot of collaboration of what to expect.
We do a lot of connection points with the vintage Red Roses on how women’s rugby started. We remember the heritage of it and one of our sayings and values that we go for is ‘do it for the girls’.
It’s for the younger generation, the girls in our team and the girls that came before us. And I think that makes what we do a little bit more powerful.
You’ve still got that inner passion to do more than what it is. The game is not just winning, it’s much bigger than that.
To do it for the girls that came before, but also inspire the next generation and take it to a place beyond where it’s ever been.
Glenn: I was in the crowd when England women won the World Cup in 2017 and I literally went as a big super fan, and was cheering the girls on.
I thought it was amazing and I had a moment where I thought ‘I really want to be a part of this’ – because at that point I was training hard, but I didn’t know if I could quite make it.
I was involved with the England junior academies and then when I started training with the senior girls, I was training with Heather [Knight], and Katherine [Sciver-Brunt], who were a part of that World Cup.
They’ve seen where the game was and where it is now, and how much they’ve grown the game.
They really took me in as a youngster and now I feel like I’ve started to become one of the senior players, which is really weird to say. It’s amazing to see that path grow.
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