Saying the team comes first is one thing. Actually meaning it, and backing up that simple statement with action, is quite another. When the England wing Claudia Moloney-MacDonald says the team was more important than personal ambition during the Women\u2019s Rugby World Cup, you can\u2019t escape the feeling she really means it.<\/p>\n
There is no better illustration of England\u2019s squad depth than the fact Moloney-MacDonald was not a regular starter in August and September. She returned from a hamstring injury to face Samoa in the pool stage, scoring in England\u2019s 92-3 win<\/a>, but did not make John Mitchell\u2019s squad again as the hosts plotted a path to victory.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all incredibly competitive. We all want to have the shirt,\u201d Moloney-MacDonald says. \u201cI see fulfilling my role as a player to be on the pitch, but that just wasn\u2019t to be.<\/p>\n \u201cMitch communicated that to me and told me what my role was. There were nine of us, more or less, that consistently supported the team and prepared them. I\u2019d be lying if I said I was anything other than disappointed, naturally, but it\u2019s something you just have to embrace.\u201d<\/p>\n During England\u2019s three-year winning streak before the World Cup, insiders often insisted the players were being constantly tested in training. Moloney-MacDonald, who recovered from a second serious neck injury in 2024 to reach a second World Cup, spells out the truth of that claim.<\/p>\n \u201cWe pulled together really strongly as a group [during the tournament] and consistently drove standards in training,\u201d she says. \u201cWe did everything we could to make sure we came out with that gold medal.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were tough moments [personally] during all that. But I think collectively all 32 of us, and particularly the nine that didn\u2019t play as much, can hang our hats up and say we did as much as we could to make sure the team could perform.\u201d<\/p>\n Claudia Moloney-MacDonald scores the final try for England during their Women\u2019s Rugby World game against Samoa. Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Is there one word she would choose to encapsulate World Cup glory? \u201cMonumental. Because it was so much bigger than us,\u201d Moloney-MacDonald says. \u201cI think it said so much about what\u2019s possible when the PWR [Premiership Women\u2019s Rugby] puts effort into building these incredible players, and the whole world has benefited from the PWR and its development. Also how the unions have supported their players, how grassroots rugby has grown.<\/p>\n \u201cI think us winning the World Cup was that pinnacle moment of: \u2018It was all worth it.\u2019 It\u2019s just proven when you put the work in, when you put the effort in, when you put the money in, when you believe and you trust the process, then the result comes.\u201d<\/p>\n Not that it came easy. Moloney-MacDonald describes the punishing regime that prepared the squad for challenges to come.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve ever worked so hard,\u201d she says. \u201cWe pushed ourselves to the absolute limit and that\u2019s how you pull people together. You\u2019ve got to break them down first and that\u2019s certainly what happened to us. We really got broken. As we rebuilt we were stronger and more joined up and a better team for it. So it was definitely a very strong unit.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week’s action reviewed<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Maud Muir, Abi Burton, Emma Sing, Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, Zoe Harrison, Helena Rowland and Jess Breach with the World Cup. Photograph: Molly Darlington\/World Rugby\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Moloney-MacDonald kicks off the PWR campaign with Exeter Chiefs Women on Saturday at Ealing Trailfinders, and says the Devon side are aiming to raise the bar.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really exciting. Oli Bishop [the new Chiefs backs and attack coach] has brought brand-new energy, new ideas, everything we needed to grow our game, and hopefully compete at that top four, top two level we\u2019ve been floating around for the last couple of years. We\u2019ve been incredibly competitive, but we want to go one more and be a real threat.\u201d<\/p>\n The 29-year-old began her career at Sutton & Epsom RFC a decade ago, and was fast-tracked to an England debut in 2018. As the women\u2019s game develops, are defences improving every season?<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, 100%,\u201d Moloney-MacDonald says. \u201cThere\u2019s less and less space. Defences are getting better but the attack is also getting better.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore you might have your backs organising [attacking plays], your forwards were more head down and carry. Now that\u2019s not really the case. You\u2019ve got ex-centres playing as props who are almost as quick as wingers.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s speed, strength, power and game knowledge across the entire team. It\u2019s posing new threats each season. You\u2019ve got to be creative and come up with new ways to break down the opposition, which is the excitement of rugby, isn\u2019t it? It\u2019s complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n The various demands on modern players are complicated too. As a wing who also plays scrum-half, how does she balance the different elements of training?<\/p>\n Claudia Moloney-MacDonald signs memorabilia for England fans. Photograph: Tom Dulat\/RFU\/The RFU Collection\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about working out the parts of your game that make you different,\u201d Moloney-MacDonald says. \u201cYou want to highlight those and also work on your weaknesses.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery player plays the game slightly differently. That\u2019s the beauty of rugby. So it\u2019s not trying to be a carbon copy of the next person, which historically maybe we\u2019ve tried to do. Now it\u2019s about being you.\u201d<\/p>\n Moloney-MacDonald selflessly devoted her own unique talent to winning the World Cup for England: Red Roses fans, not to mention her teammates, are grateful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Saying the team comes first is one thing. 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