Wallaroos back-rower Ruby Anderson's dream camp continues as the back-rower reflects on her impending Test debut against the USA on Saturday.
Anderson is set to wear the gold jersey in Canberra, having been named on the bench to face the Eagles.
Catch the Wallaroos take on the USA live, ad-free and on demand on Stan Sport.
The 18-year-old was waiting for a meeting to say that she wasn't selected at the start of the week.
Until it never came.
"I was up in my room waiting and then I was there for a few hours and realised I wasn't getting one. So, my roommate (Natalie Wright) and I started to kind of get excited but didn't want to get ahead of ourselves," she explained to the media.
"When I was sitting in the team meeting and my name was called out and I went up on the board, it was a really exciting, cool moment."
Anderson has grown in confidence over the past 12 months, emerging on the radar in a player-of-the-match performance against Samoa for Australia A.
This caught the attention of coach Jo Yapp further, who called her into the Wallaroos squad for WXV.
"South Africa last year was a really cool experience," Anderson admits.
"Just even getting to know what travelling with the team was like and touring in a different country was really amazing and just the level of professionalism that I've never been in, in a team like that before was really cool to experience.
"...To be able to be the first Australian team to play a Test in Samoa was fun and that starting position in the team was an eye-opener for me to say I can do stuff like that."
The Waratahs back-rower celebrated her 18th birthday in camp with the group leading into last week's Test against New Zealand.
"It was like a kids' party," she said and smiled.
"It was good fun. We had passed the parcel and little activities like that, and just to get to share it with people that I'm hanging out with for so long, and different people that I wouldn't have in my everyday life, it was really cool.
Anderson credits fellow back-rower Emily Chancellor as an idol, cherishing moments like the celebrations and the chance to learn from the Wallaroos legend.
"I was always watching rugby and I watched (Chancellor) and I was like 'Wow, she's amazing,'" she added.
"She's just an amazing person...Last year, I didn't get to play with her too much because of her injury, but she took that time to mentor me a lot and she was teaching me the ins and outs of being a back rower.
"Being able to play with her this year has been insane but hopefully getting to make my debut alongside her would be really cool."
