Emma Wassell on PWR return: 'The big thing I struggled with is how the World Cup ended'

Emma Wassell’s return to Premiership Women’s Rugby last Saturday was more than just another comeback from injury.

A tumour in her chest and injuries kept the Scotland international on the sidelines of club rugby for more than two years. Wassell fought to be fit for the 2025 Rugby World Cup and competed for Scotland but a knee issue meant she had to wait to return to the PWR. That moment came against Sale Sharks when she came off of the bench in Trailfinders‘ 36-31 loss.

Wassell is excited to be back but adds fully trusting her body again will take time. When told by coaches she would be on the team sheet, her first reaction was to question whether she was ready.

“It’s been a wee while since I have played. It’s probably the most unconfident I have felt in myself in a while. I thought ‘oh god am I ready?’ I really respect all of the players and depth we have here and I was so conscious that I wanted to make sure I could do that justice” said Scotland forward.

“That is probably unnecessary pressure I put on myself but it’s nice the coaches showed that trust in me. When you do get on the pitch, I would say I am still maybe a little bit rusty, but it just comes back. Playing rugby is what I do and what I know. It will be nice to get some more minutes under my belt and get some consistency there.

“I think when you have gone through an injury, I have had quite a few on my knee now, one of the biggest frustrations is allowing yourself to trust that you are safe. That your body is okay. My biggest frustration is having too much of my mental capacity thinking about ‘is my knee going to be okay?’ So it can affect how I want to play or how I see myself playing.

“The more I do it, the more I can trust myself and realise that I still have that ability. I think right now I am still ironing that out and trusting that my knee is going to be okay and that I can still push my potential.”

Wassell’s journey has been tough. Back in January 2024 she was playing for Loughborough Lightning and sustained a back injury. She then found a benign tumour in her chest in September 2024 and had to have a full sternotomy, a surgery where the breastbone is split to allow access to the heart and chest cavity. The 31-year-old adds during her recovery there were times she thought she would never play rugby again.

Her last outing on the rugby pitch before Saturday was against England in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. The hurt from that loss has ruminated in her mind ever since.

“The big thing I struggled with is how the World Cup ended,” Wassell says. “We lost that game to England and I had a huge amount of disappointment, in me personally. I didn’t perform the way I wanted to in terms of set piece, everything around it I really found disappointing. I think there is nothing harder when that happens, you almost want to get straight back in it and rectify yourself. Show that isn’t necessarily a reflection of you as a rugby player.

“I have allowed that to sit in my brain and in me for quite a long time because that was my last game. That has been another factor I have had to deal with.”

Wassell will make her first start for Trailfinders, who she signed for before the 2025/26 season, this weekend in the club’s game against Leicester Tigers, who have not won a game this season. Not being complacent is key for the club, Wassell says.

Fixture

PWR

Leicester Tigers Women

19 - 40

Full-time

Trailfinders Women

All Stats and Data

“When you watch Tigers you can see a lot of the very good things that they do bring,” Wassell adds. “They are a very new team and they are still learning each other. They have lost a lot of players as well. In terms of just getting consistency for them has been tough.

“Every game is important that you go in not complacent because if you look at the league (it is so competitive). You probably would have said this past weekend when Bristol played Saracens that it was a foregone conclusion but how different that was and how that played out. If we were to look at the Leicester game similarly, how quickly a team can take advantage of you as soon as you take a step back.”

A win for Trailfinders would boost their hopes of making the semi-finals this season. The club are currently fifth and five points outside of the top four. Wassell has spoken on what it would mean to her to make the playoffs.

PWR

P

W

L

D

PF

PA

PD

BP T

BP-7

BP

Total

1

Gloucester-Hartpury Women RFC

10

10

0

0

50

2

Saracens Women

10

9

1

0

45

3

Exeter Chiefs Women

10

5

2

3

35

4

Harlequins Women

10

5

4

1

32

5

Trailfinders Women

10

3

5

2

27

6

Loughborough Lightning

9

3

4

2

22

7

Sale Sharks Women

10

2

7

1

19

8

Bristol Bears Women

10

2

7

1

15

9

Leicester Tigers Women

9

0

9

0

1

“When I first joined Loughborough it was just after Covid times, right at the end of the season, that was the last time the club made it to the semis and we played Sarries,” she says. “I played that game and because I was so quickly into the team I didn’t fully appreciate it.

“The PWR has grown so much since then and every year since I have watched the semis and the final, it is just getting bigger and more exciting. Outside of international, this is the next big thing. To be able to put yourself in contention there is so exciting.”