What a week for Women's Rugby! This Friday is of course the final for the first ever Super W competition and the Queensland Women's XV are up against New South Wales!
In the middle of a busy week of training, I was lucky to catch up with Lavinia Gould. A very experienced player, Lavinia has normally played at number 10 this year, but has been moved to the side of the scrum (number 7) for Friday's game, as I found out tonight.
I hope you enjoy reading our interview as much as I enjoyed talking with her! Be sure to tune into the final this Friday, at 4:45pm on Fox Sports.
Hi Lavinia, first of all, congratulations to you and all of the team for making it to the final of the first ever Buildcorp Super W competition!
Thank you very much!
Are you excited? Because I sure am.
Extremely excited. It feels like a long time coming. I’ve been playing the sport for a long time and this will be an awesome highlight. So, extremely excited.
What's been your favourite thing about the Super W season this year?
I think just being the first women’s team to start the competition and having the opportunity to be a part of it. That’s where it’s at for me.
How have you been enjoying playing #10 for the Queensland team?
Number 10 - it’s obviously a hard position, doing lots of organising and you’ve just got to be game ready. Not that any other position isn’t, but you’ve got to be focused for 80 minutes. So it’s been really challenging but I hope I’ve stepped up to and done a good job of. It’s been really exciting playing back at 10.
Is it your preferred position?
Um - I’ve played a lot at 10, I don’t know if it’s my preferred position. Obviously, if I’m a back, 10 is it for me. But I do love the rough stuff and I love playing at 7 as well, which I’ll get an opportunity this weekend to play at on Friday. So I’m extremely excited to play this game.
You've played rugby in New Zealand and Australia. What was it that brought you over here? We love having you here.
It’s been a life-changing experience being an Aussie. I’ve been over here for 8 years, but I did spend the last 2 back in New Zealand with the NZ Sevens team. But it’s just a different culture, different rugby culture, totally different game actually. So it’s been a pleasure playing both and an absolute pleasure playing in Australia aswell.
You played Sevens in New Zealand for many years, your team even won the Oceania Women's Sevens competition. How did you find that experience?
Sevens - I started playing XVs initially and then went straight into Sevens. I’ve played both for a very long time in New Zealand. I equally love Sevens and XVs. Again, two totally different games. I call XVs “real rugby” to be honest, but you obviously get so much space in Sevens, it’s so much quicker, shorter and you can just go for gold.
What was it that got you into rugby originally?
I moved out of the town that I grew up in - I grew up playing soccer, so I played at quite a high level. When I left school, I moved cities and basically it was somewhere to go to meet people. And honestly, from the first training and the first game, I was hooked. I hung up my soccer boots and I haven’t stopped playing since.
I support that decision. What’s some advice that you would give to young girls and boys aspiring to play the game?
Just give it a crack and you’ll absolutely love it, as we all have. Whether it’s just for fun, whether it’s social, or whether you want to take it as far as you can, just give it a crack and don’t look back.
Can you tell us something about yourself that not many people may know?
Um, I have a twin sister! She also played a bit of rugby, for three years aswell. And I have two beautiful girls who I absolutely adore and love. Hopefully one day I’ll see them on the rugby pitch too!
Thank you so much for your time. I know it's an exciting and busy week for you. All the best on Friday. I look forward to cheering from the sidelines in Sydney.
We absolutely appreciate what you give to us Tom. You’ve given your time. Obviously you’re a rugby enthusiast and we absolutely love that and we thrive on it to be honest. So thank you and we appreciate you.
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