Packer: I simply love playing rugby

The England captain, and current World Player of the Year, is playing in her 16th year of test rugby. As she prepares to win her 100th cap this weekend against Italy, she talks on-field small talk, and improving with age.

Published by Ali Donnelly , March 18th, 2024

10 minutes read

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Packer: I simply love playing rugby

Marlie Packer’s all-action performances in recent years for her country suggest a player at the absolute peak of her career.

So it something of a surprise when you’re reminded that the England captain is now in her 16th year of test rugby, having made her debut all the way back in 2008.

This weekend, she is set to become a test centurion, and the player who oozes love for the game, says she cannot right now imagine her life without it.

“I just love playing rugby, it’s as simple as that, and I get so much from it.”

Packer has been captain of the England team for a year, and the 34-year old, says she has grown into the role.

“I was very aware that I had massive boots to fill. When I got the call and had the sit-down chat with Midds (former England coach Simon Middleton) he said , ou’re going to be co-captain with Sunter (Sarah Hunter) and she’ll fill you in on the rest.  When she told me she was retiring after one game it took a bit to sink in.

“I had no problem with the rugby element to be being captain, but there were other bits that made me nervous. So when we get a new cap, we always welcome them with a rose and we say something about how they got here, so it became clear I’d be doing that, and all the after match speaking and so on and, well, I am not so writing and planning things out like that so I became pretty nervous about things like that.

“In the last game Sunter played in, I was her roomie – she told me to ‘do me’, be my authentic self, and that is what I have tried to do and be true to myself in the role.”

In moments of challenge, Packer says she tries simply to imagine “what would Sarah Hunter do in this situation” while adding her personality to it.

And it’s working. Her first year as captain couldn’t have gone better.

A stellar year 

She led the team to a Six Nations Grand Slam, the inaugural WXV 1 title and was crowned World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year.

It seems that Packer is genuinely getting better with age, a suggestion she doesn’t necessarily argue with.

“The game is evolving, but I have had to evolve with it and get better. As I get older, I think about how I can be more effective and efficient in what I do rather than run around like a headless chicken like maybe I used to.

“I learned an awful lot in 2023 and it’s nice that I can keep learning, keep being pushed as a player and a person at this point in my career.  Off the field I am making sure that I am looking after myself. The bits around recovery and different warmups I used to see older players doing – well that’s me now and I am making sure I am doing that. It’s not just ticking boxes - I am doing it for the right reasons.”

Packer is, with respect, one of those players you watch and think, thank goodness you’ve never had to play against them.

Hard hitting, hard carrying and extremely vocal, she admits that she can properly get herself up for games.

“I can get myself there yes, but I’d be lying if I also said I didn’t get nervous. For me, that often shows up in my appetite throughout the day, so I hate a late kick off because you have to go through three mealtimes, and I don’t want to eat anything.

“When I get out there though, I throw everything into it. If I can get someone else up for it by the way I carry myself that’s what I do.”

'Small talk's, big talk'

On television Packer is often zoomed in on, with her vocal motivation hugely inspiring to her own team, and surely intimidating to the opposition.

“I always say ‘small talk’s big talk’ on the field, so if you’re saying out there what you’re doing or who you’re about to tackle, then even if you’ve not made a perfect decision, the person next to you knows that so they can counteract it.

“To give someone the confidence to say – ‘I’ve got your inside, go’ that can be hugely helpful to them.  I’ll say things constantly throughout a game like ‘leg drive, leg drive’ - these are small obvious things, but the players around you give an extra percentage or two.

“I remember when I was playing sevens and Rachael Burford saying to me  - just say the game as you see it, and that has always stuck with me.”

At 34, Packer is pragmatic to know that questions about her future will start to come her way, though surely not before a home World Cup next summer.

For her part she is starting to think about what life holds beyond playing the game.

“Right now, I can’t imagine not playing but when the time is ready, I am confident I will know.

“Having Oliver (her three-year-old son) has given me a lot of perspective. Ok, so my rest days look different running around after him, but he has given me a purpose beyond the game, and I realise there is more to life than rugby.

She also wants to give back to a sport she believes has changed her life, whenever she does hang her boots up.

“I grew up in a single parent household in a council house, but rugby has helped me travel the world.

“I’ve seen places I would never have seen and done things I would never have done so I have it in my mind to give back when I stop playing.

“And it’s just about the playing side. I have done things in my life I am not proud of, and I have made mistakes, but rugby has always brought me back to being me, and who I am. If I can help to inspire people to pick up a ball at a club because of what you get back from it then I will do whatever I can.”

Gap closing in Europe

With the Six Nations looming, England are hot favourites to win their sixth title in a row, but Packer thinks that the gap will start to close, the more professional teams become.

“I think people haven’t quite given enough credit to the fact that pro contracts take a while to bed in.  It’s about buildings habit and slow progression and we will start to see that kick in in the teams who have new contracts.

“I think a team like Ireland this year too could surprise people.  I’ve been coached by Scott (Bemand) and I think he will go in there and give them real direction and I think that Ireland might surprise a few people this year. He will have lots of energy and give them great ideas so I expect we will see a different look from them this year.”

As for England, she cites the final game against France and big home games, as things to look especially forward to.

“Getting 58,000 for the France game last year was fantastic, and we’ve chosen good venues this year too. The Wales game at Ashton Gate is a great place for that game and then we’re back at Twickenham will be brilliant again.

“Obviously that France fixture is a huge one and to play over there is just great. It’s hostile, they boo you when you walk out and go back in for your warmup - but that’s what you love. When you’re training in minus 1 on a Tuesday night in the winter, it’s for those kind of games.”

The World Cup is a little far off to think about in great depth,  but Packer talks enthusiastically of the growth and success of women’s football since England hosted the Euros and hopes it can offer a similar springboard.

She was not picked for the 2010 World Cup squad but watched England lose the final from the crowd.

“I was with England A at the time and yeah I have a vivid memory of Sunter walking over and hugging her parents in tears afterwards. It’s an incredible opportunity for us to be at home for that next year as it comes back again but first, we’ve got a massive year ahead.:

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