ENGLAND – Canmore teen Holly Phillips bet on herself when uncertainty surrounded her rugby career with a massive overhaul on everything she’d learned over the past four years.
The gamble paid off for the 19-year-old rugby star, but she’ll soon roll the dice again on her future.
In July, Phillips travelled to the U.K. with the Canada’s U20 women’s team to compete in the Tri-Nations tournament against England and the U.S. On July 24, Phillips and Canada defeated the States, 24-7, but four days later, they lost to England, 24-15.
Phillips put in serious off-season work to return to the national team roster, her third time being selected, after getting cut from the team a year prior.
Standing on the pitch, the moment was a bit surreal for Philips, as she wore the red and white again and sang the national anthem in front of distant relatives.
“[It was] something I was so focused on all year that it could of almost been classed as a little obsession was finally coming real,” wrote Phillips, who’s still in England, in an email.
“I proved myself a great tool to have on the squad, as I was able to slot in multiple positions in the front row, when key players got injured I was able to swap and preform at a quality standard where even with injuries we were competitive and threatening.”
During the year off, Phillips expanded her game and dedicated time to become more well-rounded. She spent most of her teenage rugby career as a loosehead prop, but her whole mentality changed, including adjustments to her strength and conditioning routines and diet. She trained privately at Pro-X Rugby Academy in Calgary, putting in work to become versatile as a tighthead prop and hooker, to go along with her loosehead prop expertise.
“I was praised quite highly for my ability to turn up the physicality on the pitch and make big hits, which was something I was focused on in my off-season training,” she wrote.
She brought much needed energy on the field, and her versatility to move to different positions made her stand out amongst the battling women.
“I had to bring the intensity back to the game and use my leadership skills and voice on the pitch to bring any players back into focus that may have began to lag or tire,” Phillips wrote. “I was also expected to be a bit of a scrappy disruption in order to mentally rattle the English, something I quite enjoyed doing and can be quite good at winding people up due to having two siblings at home to practice on.”
She enjoyed every minute of being back with Team Canada because it could very well be her last tour wearing the maple leaf. Next season, if Rugby Canada doesn’t take over-age players, she’ll be eligible to compete amongst Canada’s senior women and nothing is guaranteed.
Phillips will bet on herself again though – even if it is a waiting game this time.
“I have been told that they’d love to have me involved again with the U20s,” Phillips said. “In terms of senior women, I’m awaiting news on an invite into the mix. This isn’t guaranteed for another few years, as I’m still quite young in my position.”
