Alysha Corrigan makes a lot of things look easy.
Scoring tries, offloading, and leaving defenders clutching — despairingly — at her black Saracens jersey, she’s ranked top five for each of those metrics in Premiership Women’s Rugby.
Producing big plays on the biggest of stages — like her score in the 2022 PWR final, that dot-down before a capacity Stade de France with Olympic gold on the line, or her brace against Australia in the last eight of the 2025 World Cup.
Her ability to skip between 7s and 15s better than almost anyone, having hot-stepped between the disciplines for years now, and so often rising with the ball and that trademark, twinkling smile.
She makes it all look effortless, so it’s heartening to hear that the 29-year-old from Charlottetown, Canada, is human, after all, and that the last few weeks, readying herself for Singapore and Perth, have seriously tested even her formidable engine.
“The hardest part of switching back is, without doubt, the fitness: the lactic in your legs reaches crazy levels.
“Your brain knows that you’re supposed to move – to generate power, or do literally anything at all — but you just can’t. Throw 35C heat into that equation, and you’re asking yourself why you do this.
“There then comes a point when even your brain isn’t working, you hardly know what you’re doing, and it’s fight or flight. It’s hard to do it justice. You think 14 minutes isn’t that long, but 14 minutes in sevens is an eternity.”
She’s, unquestionably, put the work in. A quick glance of the Olympian’s Instagram reveals hours of fastidious plyometrics, stability work, and tin-shifting — plus gruelling-looking speed and endurance sessions.
Making her personal challenge more difficult is that she’s been in the trenches solo — training back home, in empty gyms, before linking back up with the rest of the Maples and heading East.
Why on earth is she doing it? Corrigan could, like the rest of the PWR, have had a chunk of January off.
“Because I just love sevens!” she laughs, aware of how contradictory this all sounds. “Your first session back, there’s always this thrilling moment where you realise just how much space there is to play with, and how much fun you can have with that.
“Plus, this stint works perfectly with my Saracens’ schedule. I was going to use January as a bit of an off-season anyway — because our last one of those was… I don’t even know! It’s been so long since we had a sustained training block. It’s still a good break, mentally, emotionally, and from 15s-style contact.”
There’s also the fact that code-hopping makes players, and teams, better. Jorja Miller was uncontainable for swathes of 2025, Meg Jones and Alev Kelter are hybrid powerhouses, and it’s no coincidence that the Canada outfit who so sensationally reached September’s Women’s Rugby World Cup final was littered with sevens caps. Symbiosis between the two programmes is a no-brainer, and something Corrigan has advocated for for years.
“It develops your game in so many different ways. Whichever format you start in, you’ll improve by playing the other — 15s hones your game management, and sevens your pure athleticism and confidence ball-in-hand.
“For example, I’m not your natural out-and-out winger — I love a breakdown and the contact-heavy parts — but the circuit taught me to back myself and beat people, and really enhanced my raw speed.”
She prides herself on her nuggety attitude, her turnover ability, the way she governs a defensive line, and her clutch plays: attributes which have made her central to the eyes-up, fizzing rugby Canada women have become known for – in both sevens and 15s.
“It’s a joy to play in: pick the best space, attack it with speed, and riff off those around you. The girls have been so fun to watch already this season: I can’t wait to get involved.”
Back-to-back sixth-placed finishes don’t quite do Jocelyn Barrieau’s side justice.
They’ve pushed some of the HSBC SVNS Series’ titans hard, and — but for two last-gasp defeats to Japan — their campaign’s complexion would look very different.
They’ve also been without the likes of Liv Apps, Fancy Bermudez, Taylor Perry, and, of course, Corrigan: talismanic, decorated fulcrums, whose focus since Paris has been on 15s.
“That’s been one of the biggest takeaways from Dubai and Cape Town: we lacked, at a few key moments, the sort of game management you can only really gain from big match experience.
“We’re a slightly new-look squad, transitioning elements of our game. But what’s awesome is that Jocelyn empowers us to try things as we grow and learn together, which opens the door to nerve-free rugby.
“She’s amazing — so passionate about the sport, our team, and what it means to be Canadian and represent that badge. She’s the perfect person to get that extra one or two per cent out of us, to keep challenging us, whilst bringing through the younger athletes.”
With those veterans turning out in Singapore, the near-misses might just become scalps, and — given that Barrieau’s tyros have already taken losing bonus points from both of their meetings with Australia — there’s a certain glittering jersey squarely in their cross-hairs…
“Australia are always fun to play against. They’re a real challenge and getting the win against them is a target, for sure.”
The last time those in red triumphed over those in gold? The World Cup quarter-final in Bristol. The time before that? Pacific Four in Brisbane that spring. And before then? That phenomenal semi-final in Paris.
Corrigan started all three.
Can the World and Olympic silver medalist quite believe her last 18 months?
“No! Sometimes I’ll text Chloe Daniels, like: ‘can you believe we’re silver medalists?’, and she can’t either. I’m wondering when it’ll sink in: it’s just crazy to think that I’ve done that.
“People ask me all the time if I’ve wrapped my head around the fact that this is my life, and — honestly — the answer is ‘no’.
“The crowd at that World Cup final was half the size of the town I’m from. You talk about ‘pinch me moments’, and that’s the definition of that. The older I get, the better I am at taking time to reflect, though, to acknowledge that I’m having the time of my life and enjoying every minute.
“People also ask me the difference between those two medals. I think that lies in the expectation around us, headed into those tournaments. In sevens, we were ranked fifth — no one externally gave us a chance — and so proving our point and worth was so, so special, as much as silver is always bittersweet.
“Then, in England, we were there to win, so it’s taking time to appreciate the occasion of it all, and the impact we had on women’s rugby among the sting of losing out. Eventually, it’ll sink in: perhaps once I retire.”
She’s just celebrated her 29th birthday, out in Singapore, surrounded by some of her favourite people on the planet, and the milestone was the perfect time for a little reflection.
“Job’s not done: for sure. That said, this is the first year I’ve not had a major tournament in a long time, so I’m determined to enjoy it. Win a Premiership, of course, that’s pinned dead centre on the board, but then relish a summer without rugby, because it’ll be the Los Angeles Games before we know it.
“In the very short-term: I’m going to savour some sun. After Perth, back in North London, there’s a chance I won’t see it for some time!”
This weekend, at the National Stadium — Corrigan’s legs might burn, her lungs might scream, and her decision-making might melt in the heat — but you get the sense, as she heads off to training, that she wouldn’t change a thing.