Desiree Miller's Rugby World Cup Diary

Writing this on the bus ahead of a six-hour trip from York to Brighton, it’s given me an opportunity to reflect on what an awesome past three weeks it’s been so far in England.

To look forward though we must look back, and what a crazy game to be involved in last weekend against the USA. It brought out the best in both sides and we knew going into the game it wasn’t going to be easy with the Americans on the improve in the XVs space.

We’ve had some great battles with them the past two years and the match in York had every twist and turn possible. Listening to people after the game they were commenting on how awesome the game was.

For us we take our lessons away from the fact we could’ve won that game but our discipline cost us, particularly in the second half. It just felt like no matter how far we hit the front on the scoreboard the Americans would find a way to strike back and vice versa.

For me being at my first World Cup I have been loving the journey so far, it’s everything I imagined it to be. As someone who came into rugby late, to be at the biggest stage of them all now has been surreal and I’m enjoying the rapid journey representing my country.

It is always good to score a couple of tries but my teammates next to me are the reason I’m getting over the line as much as I am too. Caitlyn Halse is an outstanding teenager coming through and she is putting me into some space, while those next to her are all contributing as well.

It was also nice to see the support we had in York for a sell-out fixture in the region. The stadium was deafening at times and after the game it’s always nice to be able to say thank you. We noticed there were a lot of English fans or general supporters cheering us on, so it made the atmosphere electric.

We’ve also been welcomed into the north of England so kindly. From when we arrived in Manchester, through to the hospitality at our hotels and training facilities and match venues, it’s made it feel exactly like a world-class tournament.

Off the field we’ve also been able to get out and explore some of the cities. Lori Cramer is our social butterfly on tour and given her previous playing experience in England we’ve very much been following her lead which has included a scavenger hunt around Manchester and a Wicked singalong experience.

I can confirm that she has her fish flops around but generally keeps them limited to around the hotel or at training sessions, you are unlikely to see them at a game.

I also went along to The Hundred cricket in my first week and caught up with Australian cricketer Phoebe Litchfield, who we did some cross-promo with before we left for the World Cup in July. Beth Mooney presented our jerseys against Samoa, bringing a real Aussie sporting flavour to our campaign.

In York I headed along to the Jorvik Viking centre to learn about the city’s rich history, while others went to the York Dungeon, with a few still alive to tell the tale I hear.

Our attention though now turns to Brighton and it’s a game we’ve been looking forward to for a while. I made my debut against England during WXV 1 in 2023 and it’s a game I’ll never forget. To be able to play the Red Roses, the host nation of a Rugby World Cup and No.1 ranked team in the world, is truly an honour. You want to play against the best to learn to beat the best and from our matches moving forward we know it is a challenging roadmap to the final.

I am no mathematician but there are a few scenarios that can play out this weekend that will determine whether we’re in the quarter-finals or not in 2025. Firstly, we want to try and win the game, and the second otherwise is scoring at least four tries for a bonus point.

If not, it will come down to our for-and-against alongside the USA, who we drew with last week. It sets up an exciting ending for the fans, and our advantage is we’ll know our targets before we run out onto the field. The result can still be in our control, which is the main thing. If we limit the Red Roses as much as possible and put points on the board it will go a long way to us advancing.

The thought that there will be over 30,000 at our game blows my mind. They might not all be cheering for us but it’s truly a great showing of the impact the tournament is having in England. We will need to contain that element of the game as well, but as an athlete it’s what you live for, to play in big matches against the world’s best.

Whether you’re going to be at the game, tuning in or supporting from afar, it should be a great occasion and arguably one of the biggest games of our lives on Saturday night.

See you there!

Desiree

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