Liam Feaviour reports from a lively talk by the rugby player and now media pundit…
Former England rugby union captain Catherine Spencer visited the University of East London to talk about her sporting career and what she’s been up to since her retirement.
Spencer was capped 63 times by England between 2004 and 2011 and captained her side from 2007, including in the narrow World Cup Final defeat to New Zealand in 2010.
She also led her country to five Six Nations titles, four of them being Grand Slams and on that she said: “I only realised the significance of what I’ve achieved in my career after I had finished.”
Asked where her favourite place to play was, the former number 8 was definitive in her answer: “France is the best place to play. It’s so hostile; you know you’re playing well when the crowd has gone silent.”
Spencer admitted the 2010 World Cup final defeat on home soil was the lowest point of her career.
“Going into the press room after that loss was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, closely followed by telling my teammates I was retiring in 2011,” she reflected.
Now that she has retired, she feels free from the shackles that held her back in interviews when captaining England, explaining: “During the 2014 World Cup, I could finally say anything I wanted now I don’t work for the RFU, it felt great.”
Spencer sees a bright future for women’s rugby in this country, especially after the World Cup win in the summer, but thinks the club level has to improve for it to take the next step.
“I think professional [sevens] contracts are a big step for the women’s game in England, but there need to be more steps taken to help raise the profile and it has to start at club rugby,”she said.
The women’s Premiership contains many of the England internationals but there is no television coverage for the league and sponsorships are lacking.
In her opinion, the game as a whole is progressing and she believes that is only going to help raise the profile.
“Lots of teams could have won this World Cup,” she suggested. “England did and Canada were close, as were New Zealand and France. I think it was getting boring before with just England and New Zealand every time, so it’s good for the game but these teams need to keep playing regularly to keep improving.”