Vicky Fleetwood

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been the ‘sporty’ type. Always outside and wanting to join in with my brother and his friends playing football at the park. I did however seem to be better at individual sports rather than team ones as a youngster- swimming and athletics were what I took up first and I then moved to team sports like netball and hockey aged 11.

I began to excel in athletics and was training regularly (up to 5 times a week) from the age of around 13. I had competitions most weekends where my parents would ferry both me and my brother to and from athletics track to athletics track around the country. I began playing rugby at school when I was 14, and loved it right from my very first training session. I started to enjoy athletics less and less and really relished being part of a team and how different rugby was.

I was always quite physical when playing netball and hockey and was often told I was making too much contact, which lent itself pretty well to rugby too.

The support of my parents was incredible. They went above and beyond to support us in our sporting careers, without being pushy. When I finally decided at 17 to give up athletics along with the other sports I was doing at the time, to concentrate on rugby, I had nothing but their backing.

I was aware that I’d made the right decision as I moved through the pathway quite seamlessly from TDG into U20s, England A and then finally into the senior squad in 2011 aged 21.

My first game for England was nothing like the games are today. It was played at a school in Toronto, Canada, with less than 50 spectators and the game wasn’t even streamed in those days. Since then, it’s been an absolute rollercoaster with some huge highs, and some really low lows.

I managed to race to 50 caps within just a few years, had won Six Nations titles and a World Cup.

I then got my first contract in 2015 with 7s and was so excited to be a professional athlete, so I gave up my job as a personal trainer at The Third Space in Soho to put all of my efforts into training and working towards the Olympics. Unfortunately, injury saw me miss a number of big tournaments and then I spent a lot of time at home due to my mum having terminal cancer, and I didn’t make the Olympic squad. This was the toughest time of my life. Injuries happen and you deal with them, but losing my mum and a huge part of my support system turned my life upside down. I was actually really keen to get back to training and the following week I was back, trying to keep as much normality as I possibly could.

The following year I went back to 15s for the World Cup and playing in the front row. I was battling with coaches about my size but was playing well so was in a really good place leading up to the World Cup.

Then every athlete’s nightmare happened... in the final training session before heading to Ireland for the World Cup, I suffered a knee injury (almost a full tear of my LCL) which meant I was left at home.

Thankfully, I went into the Intensive Rehab Unit, and was given PRP injections into the injured site. I worked really hard to make sure the leg was strong enough and I was given the nod to join the team a week late, having missed the first 2 matches. I played all 3 games that I was involved in off the bench, with a heavily strapped knee but I was so thankful to just be involved after such a whirlwind. We ended up losing 41-32 in the Final to New Zealand despite everyone’s best efforts and a late comeback.

I returned to 7s for the 2017/18 season for the Commonwealth Games and 7s World Cup. This time round, I was far fitter and was really enjoying the challenge of training. I was moved to the wing, which wasn’t where I felt comfortable, but gave it my best shot. We won a bronze medal at the Commonwealths but the World Cup didn’t go so well. It was a knock out competition from the first game, and we were beaten by Ireland, meaning the best we could then do was 9th.

I then made my final switch back to 15s, which is where I’ve stayed for the last 3 seasons. I did however make the decision to move positions and to play flanker rather than hooker. I feel as a smaller player, this definitely plays to my strengths and the move was backed by the coaches. I’d worked so hard on my fitness whilst being with 7s, and thought my work rate would lend itself well to playing in the back row.

Then came another low in March 2019, I suffered a grade 6 separation to my AC joint in my shoulder and had to have surgery. I lost a lot of muscle mass around the shoulder after the collar bone tore through my trapezius and deltoid and a big stint in the IRU over a number of weeks followed, in order to get me back to playing.

Annoyingly, after some good game time and a long spell with no injuries which saw me playing well, COVID hit. As well as working on maintaining my strength and fitness, I used this time to build some online Personal Training presence. I think it’s really important to have something alongside playing but this was something I’d always put off as I preferred seeing people face to face. My hand was forced during lockdown as I was unable to see people so this made me go out of my comfort zone and try something slightly different. I was taking lots of zoom classes for rugby teams as well as the team I coach. The online stuff is now something that I will continue to do now so many people have gotten used to working through computer screens.

The 2020/21 pre-season at Saracens went really well. I was feeling fit and strong, and was playing well. When the league finally started in October, the first game back was against Worcester, and I tore my hamstring tendon whilst jackalling meaning yet another 3 months on the sideline. To top that off, with games cancelled due to COVID, although I was fit and ready to go, I was still unable to play.

Even more bad news followed. The Six Nations was postponed, and it’s structure changed. We would go from playing 5 games, 1 against each team involved in the tournament, down to just 2 pool games and a final! At least the tournament managed to go ahead, and it being a standalone tournament meant there was more traction than we’d previously had as we’re always fighting with the men for viewership.

Not only was the 6 Nations affected, but the World Cup that was set to be held in Sept/Oct 2021 has now been pushed back to October 2022. Because of this, we have just a couple of games left this season, and the big aim now is to win the Premiership with Saracens. Following that, we get a 5 week break and then it’ll be back to it for a big 15 months leading up to the World Cup.