Gondwe still learning despite England success

Akina Gondwe has gone through quite a rise over the past few seasons.

Having only played as a prop since she was 18, the 20-year-old has already established herself as a first-team regular in the front row for Warriors Women.

To cap off that rise, Gondwe has also turned out for England Under-20s, helping them to win the Tri-Nations Cup this summer.

But despite this success, the third-year Worcester University Geography student insists that she still has a lot to learn.

“The first time I played, they stuck me on the wing. So I was on the wing for the first two years of my career, I played county on the wing,” she said.

“Then when I got into the under-18s, a lot of the girls were getting too old for so I moved into the centres.

“I played at centre for a couple of years and then in my last year of under-18s, I got picked to play for what was then the South East Academy and I made the move to prop there.

“So, I’ve been playing prop since I was 18. It was weird at first, but I was open to it. My first couple of scrums, I was thinking ‘oh god get me out, this is weird’.

“It’s a position that does take a while to learn, I think of players who play in that position like Rocky Clarke, who has over 100 caps for England, it’s a position that you grow into, so I’m still growing into it.”

Gondwe’s partners in the scrum also reflect the youthful make-up of the Warriors squad, but the prop sees this as an advantage.

“There’s so many technicalities to being in the front row. It takes a while to learn, to get the gist and the hang of some of that, and also learning from people like Laura Keates,” she added.

“Me and Lauren Leatherland are the same age, with Alisha Watkins and Carmen Tremelling at hooker, all of us are very young. It’s a challenge we need to embark on.

“Being so young it’s only going to come to our advantage that we’ve got so much to learn and nothing to lose.

“So we’re all learning together and knowing that we’re learning together is the best part because you’ve got that shoulder to lean on, knowing that we aren’t always going to get it right.

“But we’ll learn together and keep pushing forward.”

Although Warriors have not got the results they perhaps deserve on the pitch, the club had five representatives in the England Under-20s side which won the Tri-Nations Cup in the summer.

“I first got into the 20s squad two years ago and I never expected it,” Gondwe said. “To go away to Canada one summer and then have a home series this year, there’s so much that you learn.

“Personally, I learnt so much in the home series because I was coming to the end of being eligible so it was almost like ‘what can I do in this series to set me up for the Premier 15s?’

“It’s a great experience and pulling on the rose for the Under-20s is an honour. When you sing the national anthem it just feels emotional but in a good way. You want to do well and perform well for what’s on your chest.

“Yes, we’re not getting results as a Warriors squad but knowing that I’m being recognised for my performances and for all my hard work feels special.”

Gondwe has started both of Warriors Tyrrells Premier 15s games so far and is set to be involved when the Sixways side travel to Richmond on Saturday (5pm kick-off).

Gondwe believes that although Richmond will pose a tough test, this is a game Warriors can win.

“All the hard work we put in in pre-season, the lessons we’ve learnt from the first two games of the season, Richmond will be a game we’re looking to win,” Gondwe said.

“They always bring a dogfight, they’re feisty at the breakdown, they want to compete at every lineout.

“But if we defend the way we defended against Quins and try to keep the ball for as many phases as possible, we’ve got a real opportunity against Richmond.

“We defended for a long time against Quins and kept them in their 22 for a long time. And against Wasps we had some really good phases, we got some really good attack shape.

“So, if we can get the two together at the weekend, it’s a real opportunity for us. And it will be a time to really showcase what we can do as Warriors Women.”

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