INTERVIEW | Kelsey Clifford: “It’s a huge honour to play in a World Cup”
Kelsey Clifford can’t wait to achieve her childhood dream today as she prepares to make her Rugby World Cup debut off the bench for the Red Roses against the USA.
The Saracens academy graduate has had a meteoric rise in the rugby world over the last two years, earning a spot in John Mitchell’s squad for the home World Cup, an opportunity very few players get to experience.
“It’s a bit surreal; I’ve had a bit of a whirlwind time with England just trying to take every opportunity as it comes, so being able to play in a World Cup is a huge honour.”
Clifford’s World Cup selection comes after a bittersweet period personally, with the loss of her grandfather making this debut even more meaningful.
“I’ve had a tough time at the moment with my grandad passing, so I think when I heard that I was going to get selected I was very much wanting to do it for him.”
The Red Roses head into the tournament as favourites, with fierce competition across the squad. But Clifford says the group are staying grounded and focusing on the moment.
“We have goals and wanted to get into the final and lift the trophy but at the moment we are taking it step by step, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. I just want to enjoy every moment.”
The young prop has relished the chance to develop on and off the pitch with some of the biggest names in the game.
“I’ve got on with Lark Atkin Davies and Maud Muir. We have been spending a lot of time together and built a good relationship. Zoe Aldcroft too has been really great at welcoming everyone together.”
“I think the closer the team, the better they perform on the pitch.”
That sense of closeness is particularly strong with fellow Saracens stars in the England camp, and Clifford has leaned on her long time teammate Jess Breach for support.
“I always say Jess is more a sister than a friend and having her in camp on especially hard days, I know she’s always there. It’s great having support and having someone to lean on while in those camp environments. It’s nice to have a little family (Sarries) inside the big family.”
Having recently re signed for Saracens, Clifford is in no doubt about how important her club journey has been in helping her reach this stage.
“Christmas was a massive turning point for me where I was starting in a lot of games and getting a decent number of minutes, which made me get fitter as a player. I think I was playing some of my best games at Sarries in the lead up to the Six Nations, which then carried over to the Six Nations, getting my first try and becoming a solid bench player for the Red Roses.”
“Now I just hope I can keep that momentum going into the World Cup and keep that form going from the last six months into the next few months.”
While the World Cup is her immediate focus, Clifford is also eyeing a huge personal milestone back at StoneX.
“I’m very aware I have a job to do here first, then I’m really looking forward to getting my 100th cap for Saracens in a few games’ time, even that will be a milestone to look forward to.”
“But I’m really excited to get back. It’s just going to be a big year of rugby, hopefully the traction from the World Cup will feed back into the club games and we’ll get more and more fans down to support.”
