After 26 hours in the air and several days to adjust to jet lag, the Wallaroos have commenced their Rugby World Cup preparations in Manchester, as hype begins to grow for what is set to be the biggest iteration of the tournament yet.
Over 300,000 tickets have already been sold (more than double the previous event in New Zealand), and young fullback Caitlyn Halse is noticing the buzz around town.
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“It definitely feels a bit different,” Halse said to reporters on Wednesday afternoon, when asked how it feels compared to the Wallaroos tour last year to Wales and Ireland.
“Obviously [it] is a World Cup, the pinnacle of our sport. It happens once every four years.
“There's a lot of sold-out crowds. Everyone's talking about it, there's going to be lots of people there. [We’re] starting to definitely feel [it] a lot more now that we're in the country.”
Having been part of the Wallaroos set up for the last 18 months, the 18-year-old Halse is still pinching herself that she now gets to compete against the world’s best.
At the same time, with the game plan under Jo Yapp always focused towards this tournament, Halse is falling back on the processes learnt during that time.
“It's kind of a surreal feeling,” the 10-capped Wallaroo acknowledged.
“18 months ago, if you told me I was going to the World Cup, I probably wouldn't believe you. [I’m] very excited to be here and very grateful for the opportunity that the coaching staff have given me.
“I think the process is still the same. We've been building as a group over the last 18 months, just sticking to what we've been doing and trying to keep building every week, and then hopefully putting out some great performances against our opposition.
“I've talked to a few girls that have been to World Cups before. They've mostly said, take it a day at a time, [don’t] try to overload yourself or try too much. Take it day by day and moment by moment.”
Halse has set herself clear targets to grow as a player in addition to the Wallaroos results, with several of her Waratah team mates helping her out.
She also frequently looks up to several legendary stars of the game to drive her standards.
“Success for me would be growing as a player, whether that's during training or off the field,” Halse explained.
“This World Cup's all about growing as a player and then hopefully getting results off the back of that.
“Maya Stewart and Georgina Friedrichs [influence me]. Those are the two that I go to if I have any problems or if I need any advice or anything.
“They've really been keeping me humble, showing me the ropes and then just talk about their experiences at past World Cups and how that went for them and helping me out whenever I need it.
When I was growing up, I looked up to Dan Carter from a XVs point of view. He's one of those people that I wanted to play like. Whether it's his ball skills, his vision, his kicking, he's just such a class player.
“From a Sevens point of view, people like Charlotte Caslick were probably the people that I looked up to and wanted to be like. I was actually very nervous to be around her through our first couple of training sessions.
“But she's just a really lovely girl.”
The loss of Caslick has been viewed as a significant one for the Wallaroos after the Sevens star had a stellar start to her XVs career, but Halse backs the form of replacement Manu’a Moleka, who impressed in her Australia A performance against Samoa earlier this year.
With the Wallaroos facing the island nation first up in Manchester, Moleka has a perfect opportunity to impress Jo Yapp.
“Nua's been with our group all year,” Halse said.
“It's really exciting to see her get an opportunity, even though it's sad that Charlotte can't be here due to injury.
“It's a really good opportunity for Nua. She's been working really hard within this group over the last seven months. She's a great ball player, hard runner.
“Samoa are obviously a really strong team.
“They're a very physical team. We've got to prep for that, go out in our hit-out sessions and just go as hard as we can on each other, and then obviously review them from a technical point of view.”
The Wallaroos will have a tough run, with the USA and England making up the other sides in their pool - but Halse believes the side’s growth can shine through, continuing the momentum that is building on and off the field.
“Anything can happen at a World Cup,” she added.
“I've been hoping that we can inspire young girls and boys that rugby is a sport for everyone.
“No matter where you're from, what you look like, it's a sport for all shapes and sizes. Rugby is a game for everyone.”
