With over 100 international caps, a World Player of the Year title and the England Women’s all-time point-scoring record to her name, Emily Scarratt is quite rightly regarded as rugby royalty. As part of the all-conquering England team currently on a 25 match winning streak (at time of writing), she will shortly be heading to New Zealand where the Red Roses are hotly tipped to win the World Cup.
Before she and her team-mates headed off in pursuit of silverware, we caught up with Emily to find out more about what it takes to get to the top of elite sport. We chatted to Emily about what it would mean to win the World Cup; why sleep is critical to her performing on game day; what made her place an order for the new Form mattress from Women’s Health Men’s Health; and why she’d love nothing better than a late night chat with Mary Berry!
“I actually started playing rugby after following my brother down to my local rugby club,” says Emily. “He’s three years older than me and it was while watching him play that one of the coaches asked if I wanted to join in. I started running in the wrong direction, passing the ball forward and not really knowing what I was doing. But I loved it from that moment.
“I’ve always loved sports in general, I think. Through my childhood I’ve tried lots of different activities and I basically played as many different sports as I could.”
It was when Emily turned 17, however, that her path towards international rugby became clear. Having been selected for England Under 19s she then quickly went on to gain her first full cap just two years later and the rest, as they say, is history.
When Mammoth sat down to chat with Emily she was in the midst of a training camp in preparation for the trip to New Zealand and the much anticipated World Cup, which was rearranged form 2021 due to Covid.
Asked what this intensive 8-week training block involved, she said:
“The first three weeks or so were very tough physically. We’re trying to get ourselves in the best shape possible and so there wasn’t a huge amount of tactical or technical rugby work initially. But in the subsequent weeks we’ve transitioned to more rugby-orientated training with a clear focus on what we’re trying to achieve and the way we want to play at the World Cup.”
An average of 3-4 weights sessions, 3-4 on-pitch sessions and a host of other tactical, technical and skills-based extras each week represents a sizeable workload for the squad. But as Emily explains, the players’ recovery is also being managed carefully with the aim of building the Red Roses up to peak for the World Cup.
“Recovery has become far more prominent over the course of my career. We obviously know a lot more about what the body needs from a scientific standpoint than we did maybe 10-15 years ago. And, personally, I’m getting a little bit older now, so it’s important that I do everything I can to keep my body in the best shape.
“We pay very close attention to the nutrition side of things – fuelling before efforts and then refuelling carefully post-sessions. We also use a range of different recovery aids based on our individual needs. That can be stretching, foam rolling, massage, sauna bags, infrared lights, swimming pools and ice baths. Things like that. But I think one of the most important changes here has been moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s important that recovery and rehab is tailored to the individual.”
Emily is also quick to point out the value placed on sleep during each training week.
“Sleep is a huge part of it. It’s one of the biggest recovery aids we have. While establishing a good sleep routine is left up to us as players, we do have people coming into camp and helping to educate us on what’s best for us and how to ensure that we wind down and wake up correctly.
“It’s not always easy when we are travelling to games, sleeping in different locations and maybe not enjoying the perfect sleep environment every night. But we are encouraged to work around that as best we can. That also means getting to know the habits of your room-mate on tour and trying to accommodate each other.
“It’s such a lottery and even though you can take earplugs and try to control the environment, there’s not always a perfect solution. Fortunately I room with Mo Hunt currently – we’ve been friends for a long time and roomed together for many years so that does make it easier for me personally.”
As Emily and the rest of the squad prepare for travelling to New Zealand, their target is to gradually shift their bedtime and wake time to ease the effects of jet lag, which can be debilitating when crossing time zones. This will also be supported by nutritional strategies to keep meals and digestion aligned with training and the body clock.
Emily Scarratt’s perfect sleep environment
“I like it to be nice and dark when I go to sleep but I do really like waking up naturally to some daylight coming through. That helps to stop me from feeling groggy.
“I also like it quite cool so that I can get wrapped up tight in my duvet. But I’d say I’m more of a minimalist when it comes to pillows. I typically go for one pillow or maybe two slim pillows rather than having loads piled on a bed. I am a big fan of a teddy to cuddle with, though!
“Having recently tested out the Women’s Health Men’s Health Collection, I was a little surprised that I preferred a firmer mattress. I wouldn’t always have said that but I definitely appreciated the support of the Form mattress.
“I move quite a lot in bed, what I like about the Form is that it relieves pressure but doesn’t make me feel trapped.”
Asked about her preferred techniques for relaxing and unwinding before bed, Emily says,
“Getting my mind off things is really important to my quality of sleep and it can sometimes be the hardest thing to do. We’re obviously putting a lot of pressure on ourselves as we prepare for this World Cup but it’s not helpful to take the day’s training to bed with you.
“Similarly, if it’s the night before a game, it’s easy to get nervous and have that sense of anticipation and excitement – but that can drain you of energy ahead of matchday.
“Staying relaxed and calm is crucial to us as a group. But that looks different for everyone in the squad. It might be time alone to watch some rubbish TV, it could be reading a book or for some it’s playing card games.”
Looking ahead to the World Cup
With just a few weeks to go until the Red Roses get their World Cup campaign underway, Emily says,
“We’re in a really good place at the moment but we don’t want to be the finished article now; we want to reach our peak for a World Cup final. We’ve been working so hard towards that goal and we can’t look at anything now other than winning each game as it comes.
“We know that all of our competitors will be going into the tournament with the same mindset and you write them off at your peril, so it should be an exciting competition.”
Asked about how far women’s rugby has come in recent years and how special this World Cup will feel with interest in the game at an all-time high, Emily says:
“I sometimes find this question hard to answer because we want to celebrate where women’s rugby is right now and how far it has come. But equally we are all keen to push for more and see more progress being made. I hope that this World Cup will really capture the public’s attention and encourage more young girls to get into rugby in the future.
“We’ve seen how the Lionesses have helped to increase interest in women’s sport recently in football and, if anything, that makes us more excited at the prospect of a growing awareness on the rugby side of things.”
And if Emily could have a late night chat with anyone (dead or alive), who does she think would be worth giving up sleep for?
“Ooh, can I have two?
“The first would be Mary Berry – because I love baking. And the second would have to be David Attenborough because I just love him!”
The Rugby World Cup kicks off on 8th October 2022. You can follow Emily Scarratt on Instagram @Scaz13.