As we hit 50 days to go until Women's Rugby World Cup 2010,
we catch up with Wales star Non Evans to find out how she's
managing her hectic schedule.
READ NON'S PREVIOUS COLUMN >>
I'm still waiting to learn if I have been selected for
the Welsh squad in the under 59kg Olympic freestyle wrestling event
at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October. They are going
to make one big announcement for all the sports from gymnastics to
wrestling on 14 July.
I will be very disappointed if I don't make the squad
because I have done everything they told me I needed to, I won all
the medals I needed to and in the last few weeks I've also won
gold at the Welsh Open and silver at the British Championships.
I'm desperate to know, not least because I will need to
book some extra leave from work! What with the World Cup already
using my leave up, I'll have to arrange unpaid leave and I
can't do anything on that until I get my official selection
letter.
End of the world
Arranging leave, though, was the furthest thing from my mind
recently when I damaged the Lateral Collateral Ligament, the LCL,
on the outside of my knee. It has basically snapped in half and the
initial reaction from the scan was I had to have an operation.
My world fell apart literally at that news, because it would
mean I would miss everything, not just the World Cup but also the
Commonwealth Games, everything I had been working so hard towards
over the last few months.
Fortunately, on examining it this week, the instability was
not as bad as the scan suggested. They were pleased with how stable
my leg was, so I have to have a couple of weeks in a brace to
encourage it to reattach itself. I can walk and run on it, I have
just got to rest it otherwise it won't improve.
The injury means I'm going to miss the training camp
against England this weekend, but I'm hoping to be back in time
for the test match with Ireland on 1 August. That is my aim and to
be back fully fit obviously for the World Cup.
I haven't had an injury since I broke my leg in 2006, so
I have been very lucky with all the sports that I do. Hopefully it
will heal quickly. I can still do the bike and gym so I can keep my
fitness up, which is great because I'm fitter than I have ever
been before.
There's now only 50 days to go until the World Cup and I
must admit I was counting the weeks down after I suffered the
injury, thinking I have two weeks in a brace, then two weeks of
rehab, then another three or four until the tournament gets
underway.
Excitement builds
It's really exciting and everyone in the Welsh squad is
now starting to talk about our first game with Australia. It is
getting closer and closer and the mood in the camp is really good
considering how we went in the Six Nations, getting the wooden
spoon and losing to Italy.
A lot of the players who missed the Six Nations through
injury are fit and back and there is really good competition for
places in the squad.
We are playing England in a warm up game on Sunday, across
four 20-minute halves, and I'm really excited to see how they
work the combinations because we've got some new players in the
squad.
I can't play, but I will be going down to watch the girls
at the weekend. It will be interesting to see who they play at full
back because we have got a couple of new youngsters in from the
Under 20s, while Mellissa Berry is in the centres and other people
have moved around.
It will be interesting to see how the coaches test the
combinations and how the performances go. I think the result is not
so important, we are looking at combinations and putting what we
have done in training into the match environment.
England are probably the best team in the world at the moment
following their victory over New Zealand just before Christmas.
It's going to be a great challenge for us and the perfect
preparation for the World Cup.
Squad selection
The World Cup has seemed more of a reality since our squad
was announced in mid-May, well our coach Jason Lewis actually
selected 23 confirmed players and then another six girls to train
with the squad.
Those six girls have had to sweat it out over the summer
until the squad is cut down to 26 for the World Cup. I'm in the
23 selected, which is great as I haven't got a worry, but I
think it's good they have selected an squad because you do get
injuries, you do get knocks.
You've also got more people to train with and against in
sessions. We've got a busy summer with games against England as
warm up matches and a full capped international against Ireland, so
it's going to be a very busy build up and busy summer preparing
for the World Cup.
There were a few surprises you could say in the 23 selected,
including our captain Mellissa Berry in the centres. Mellissa is a
very talented player and in the Six Nations she actually played in
the centre against Scotland and had an outstanding game.
Mellissa is very, very quick and an excellent tackler,
she's also a very good leader and an excellent communicator and
I think that's something we missed in the backline when she
wasn't there.
New challenges
We've got a lot of new girls in the backline and they
were a little bit quiet, so when Mellissa was there it did kind of
motivate people, lifted people's spirits and gave people
confidence in the backline.
She's also lost a bit of weight in the last year and I
think she's a little bit small now for a number 8, so she's
an ideal size and pace for a centre so I'm very excited to have
Mellissa back in the backline.
Another was Louise Rickard among those six players, but as a
potential second row. I think she's the only player in the
squad who has been around for longer than I have! Her number of
caps speak for themselves, she's got 110 caps which is the
record for a Welsh player.
Louise is a very fit girl and always does well in all the
fitness tests. She has lost a little bit of pace as she's got
older. She played centre initially for Wales and moved to the wing,
but she wants to extend her playing career.
She said she'd be prepared to play anywhere for Wales and
second row, perhaps we are lacking a little bit of depth there.
She's very fit, she can get around the park, rucks and carries
the ball well, but it remains to be seen if she can scrummage and
jump in the lineout so that's something she'll have to
prove over the summer to see if she can make the final squad.
Next week we catch up with Canada wing Julianne Zussman to look
back on a two-test series win over neighbours USA and the climax of
their domestic competition, the National Women's
League.