It says a lot about the misfortune that Sydney Gregson has endured that, as she begins to chart the injuries that contributed to a nine-year absence from an England shirt, the centre feels the need to caution that she will probably forget an affliction or two. As we speak, perched on a crash mat for safety, it is only a matter of days since Gregson made her first international appearance in nearly a decade, featuring in midfield off the bench against Wales in Bristol to at last add to the three caps she won as a teenager in 2015. It’s been a long road back.
Gregson’s tale is one of pain and perseverance. “I did my MCL,” the Saracens back recalls, cataloguing her strife in the measured manner of a player who has had to do this too many times before. “Then I did my ATFL in my ankle – they both kept me out for four to six months and disrupted my season. There were a couple of concussions, too.
“I got into the sevens set-up and then had surgery on my foot – another six months out. I got back from that and did the events in Sydney and Auckland, and Covid happened: we all got made redundant and the programme folded. I went back to Sarries and played a fair bit of that season, had a great preseason and then did my ACL in an internal game. I was out for 13 months, came back for a couple of games and tore my hip flexor.”
That was in the autumn of 2022 when, mercifully, a run of horrific luck at last came to an end. “Touch wood,” Gregson says. “I’ve been good since then.”
Now it is about making up for lost time. No Red Rose in the modern era has had to wait so long between international appearances; some influential England stars have forged and finished their careers in the period that Gregson has been out of the picture. Women’s rugby has changed significantly, too: Gregson’s first cap, a 13-0 defeat to Wales, was played in front of a meagre crowd in Swansea; her fourth came in front of nearly 20,000.
“I used to feel envy,” Gregson admits of watching the Red Roses and the sport develop in her absence. “I think that is where my mindset has changed. I used to think, not that I should be there, but I could be, and really wanted to be. After my ACL tear, my mindset changed to controlling what I could control and if it happens, it happens.
“It’s always been in the back of my mind, always the dream. But this season, it wasn’t my be-all and end-all. I was going to work as hard as I could to achieve that, but also just try and enjoy my rugby. That’s when I play my best – not putting too much pressure on myself or overthinking it.”
The Gregson of 2015 is very different to the Gregson of now. The teenage flyer on the wing has become a hard-working centre whose direct carrying offers a point of difference, while still maintaining the pace that John Mitchell demands from his outside backs. England’s head coach first made contact in December, Gregson missing the call but scrambling to ring back after spotting the New Zealander in his WhatsApp profile picture. A summons to a training camp followed in January before making Mitchell’s Six Nations selection in March.
Her international return has created new challenges. While most Red Roses squad members are now full-time professionals, Gregson balances being Saracens’ midfield linchpin with teacher training. Heath Mount School, where club colleague and USA international Lotte Clapp is a member of staff, have been supportive and allowed Gregson to take two weeks off either side of the Easter break – but when the Six Nations ends, she will be back amongst things.
“I’m just constantly tired!” Gregson jokes as I ask how she manages to balance her twin careers, but there is truth behind the remark. “You have to compromise some things – sleep, things like that…
“Naturally with my job, I’m on my feet quite a lot, so it’s just doing what I can to be off my feet a little bit more and managing that around work. I’m quite good at getting up in the morning, getting my gym done and then going off to work. Then in the evening, either training with Sarries or getting time to relax.
“[Teaching] was massive when I was injured. When you are injured and all you want to be doing is playing, if you are just sat around at home thinking you get more and more upset. When you’ve got something to distract you, it’s better.”
An England contract may arrive in the summer but Gregson is understandably taking nothing for granted. A natural hard grafter, time at Pennyhill Park is proving invaluable in developing her game within a world-leading set-up.
“It’s been amazing having the time in camp to work on things I don’t normally work on. I’m not a natural kicker, and that is something I want to work on. But if I’m [teaching] full time and training late in the evenings, I tend to focus on stuff I’m likelier to do in the game. It is so good to have that time to focus in on a different skill.
“The environment is positive and so, so competitive, and that’s what you want. We’ve got so much more room to grow. When I was 18 and 19, I was very quiet. I’m so different to the player of nine years ago – a lot older, more experienced. Having it taken away from you and having to earn it back, I have a greater appreciation of it. I’ve worked so hard to get to here and I want to keep pushing on to see what is next.”
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