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'Outstanding talent' Short wants more after 'nerve-wracking' Red Roses debut
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From the moment Demelza Short stepped out at Scottish Gas Murrayfield the 19-year-old’s emotions were clear to see.
Tears streamed down her face during God Save the King as she stood directly in front of the smattering of seats her family and other loved ones occupied.
A few moments later the Bristol Bears back-row watched Scotland‘s Helen Nelson kick-off the Guinness Women’s Six Nations clash and as her England teammate Emma Sing cleared to touch with eight seconds on the clock. She was a Red Rose.
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“I don’t think I’ll ever really take in what happened,” Short said. “I don’t think it’s real yet. It’s crazy. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.
“There’s always going to be nerves, isn’t there. You’re representing England in front of 30,000 people at Murrayfield – it’s going to be nerve-wracking.
“I think when the whistle went, it’s just another game of rugby and we just got stuck in.”
Coming into an England squad is never easy. Particularly a Women’s Rugby World Cup winning side. One struggling with a series of key absences. But Short made it look reasonably simple as England racked up a 84-7 win over Sione Fukofuka’s Scots in Edinburgh.
Since full-time on Saturday afternoon the Red Roses’ social media channels have been keen to remind the public just how dramatic Short’s rise has been.
Short was playing for England U18 Women just over 12 months ago at the Six Nations Festival. A little over 400 days ago she was representing Exeter College in the ACE Girls’ League final at Allianz Stadium. Before November she had not even played a Premiership Women’s Rugby game.
All this before the realisation that Short was just four months old when England defence coach and former captain, Sarah Hunter, made her international debut.
A few days on Short confesses that there were not many words shared with her family after England’s win against Scotland. It was mainly tears of joy as the same people that lined the pitch at the Six Nations festival and at ACE Girls’ League games got to celebrate the teenager getting her first senior Test appearance.
When asked what her ambition were now, Short said: “Every cap that you get is an honour, to get one and hopefully make a long career out of it, that’s definitely my ambition.”
This week the youngster signed a new contract with her club. Scott Lawson, Bristol Bears Women head coach, said: “Demelza is an outstanding young talent who has really seized her opportunity this season, stepping up brilliantly when the squad was stretched by international call-ups and injuries.
“She’s shown maturity beyond her years, and we believe she has an exceptionally high ceiling. We’re excited to keep supporting her development within our programme, alongside our world class coaches, staff and players.
Back in Bristol
Short is one of several teenagers to be involved in John Mitchell’s squad for this Women’s Six Nations. With England down 13 players from their Women’s Rugby World Cup winning side from September – as a result of pregnancy, injuries and retirement – this has seen Haineala Lutui earn two caps from the replacements against Ireland and Scotland.
This weekend Short will join Lutui on the bench for England’s Round 3 clash with Wales at Bristol’s Ashton Gate Stadium. There will be a debut for her club teammate Millie David in the fixture as the Red Roses look to go three from three against a Welsh side reeling from losses to Scotland and France, and have only won one of their past 12 Test matches.
England will also be returning to the scene of their Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final and semi-final victories against Scotland and France. At the start of April it was confirmed that 25,000 tickets had already been sold for the match.
It is also another chance for the Red Roses to continue their own development. This Women’s Six Nations the team have installed a new attack under new assistant coach Emily Scarratt, with Mitchell having claimed at full-time in Edinburgh that his side were “unfinished”. Something that tighthead prop, Sarah Bern agrees with.
“If you ask any of the girls, I don’t think we’ve put out a performance that we’re super proud of yet,” Bern said. “Every week we look at how can we develop our game. How can we push to have the best attack, the best defence, the best everything.
“That might seem like an unattainable goal, but that’s in the Red Roses’ DNA to keep striving and pushing the barriers. Until we have that perfect game, I don’t think anyone will be happy.”
