Maud Muir Interview: “I hope the World Cup shows that normal people and normal women can do incredible things”
Maud Muir is determined to play her part in England's quest for home World Cup glory
©Photo by Hagen Hopkins/World Rugby/Getty Images
It’s all starting to feel very real.
Last Thursday, Red Roses head coach John Mitchell selected 32 players tasked with winning the Women’s Rugby World Cup on home soil and this weekend, England’s preparations truly begin.
A warm-up match against Spain in Leicester will be followed by one final hit-out away in France next weekend, before England kick off their World Cup campaign against the United States in Sunderland on August 22nd.
For Gloucester-Hartpury prop Maud Muir, this will be her second World Cup. The 24-year-old has regularly been a part of England’s plans, earning 40 caps since making her debut in 2021.
Rewind the clock back even further, and Muir was just 19 years old when she last chatted to TRU.
Back then, she was an emerging talent at Wasps. A versatile player across the front-row, she never imagined rugby could be her full-time career but now the tighthead prop is an integral member of an England squad tipped as favourites to lift the sport’s biggest prize.
“I still don’t think I truly believed when I was younger that I could be a rugby player. I didn’t know that was a possibility,” Muir candidly tells TRU. “My life has changed significantly. I feel so grateful.
“It’s pretty cool to see how far I have come, how far the team has come and how far English rugby has come. There’s so much more it can grow. It’s exciting.
“For me, I’ve grown hugely. I think I was just happy to be there at the last World Cup, but now I want to contribute. I want to play a part in the team a bit more and fine-tune my scrummaging technique.
“I think scrummaging takes a lot of practice and you have to learn and have to fail to get better. I think my scrummaging has developed as beforehand, I didn’t have a set role whereas now, I’m a tighthead. I have that clarity and I can really focus on that.
“I hope I can play more of a part in the team [Muir came off the bench in all six of England's World Cup games three years ago]. I’m pushing myself on the pitch, to hopefully start or play the role as a finisher.”
Muir will be part of a very experienced bench for Saturday’s game against Spain alongside the likes of club teammates Mo Hunt and England captain Zoe Aldcroft.
While she has progressed through England’s age-grade system, Muir has also enjoyed domestic success, achieving a three-peat with Gloucester-Hartpury after winning the Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR) title back in June.
Couple that with England’s dominance of the northern hemisphere - winning seven Six Nations titles in a row - no wonder Muir is relishing the opportunity to pull on the Red Roses jersey again.
“It [preparations] have been going really well,” Muir continues. “We’ve been training really hard. There’s been a lot of moments where we’ve come together as a team as well and I think we’ve really tightened as a group which is something that you want to be able to do going into a World Cup because you all want to be on the same page.
“You all want to be in each other’s company which hopefully will transfer on the pitch. I think we’re all ready to play now. We’re excited to start the warm-up games and then the World Cup.”
So far, at least 275,000 tickets have been sold for the entire World Cup, and demand has far exceeded that of the previous World Cup in New Zealand (where around 150,000 tickets were sold).
These statistics show just how much the women’s game has grown in the last few years and Muir hopes the support continues beyond the tournament as it’s a hugely exciting time for players, fans and everyone else involved across the country.
“I hope this tournament creates more accessibility and hopefully more funding. I hope it shows that normal people and normal women can do incredible things”.
In terms of England’s opening warm-up match against Spain, flanker Abi Burton will earn her first Test start in Leicester.
The 25-year-old, who scored twice on her debut against Wales in the Six Nations, will start at blindside flanker alongside captain Marlie Packer and No. 8 Maddie Feaunati.
Kelsey Clifford, Lark Atkin-Davies, and Sarah Bern form the front row, with Lilli Ives Campion and Abbie Ward in the second row.
Lucy Packer partners Zoe Harrison at half-back, while Jade Shekells and vice-captain Megan Jones take the midfield roles.
Emma Sing starts at full-back, joined by Helena Rowland and Jess Breach on the wings.
England team vs Spain: Sing; Rowland, Jones, Shekells, Breach; Harrison, L Packer; Clifford, Atkin-Davies, Bern, Ward, Campion, Burton, M Packer (capt) Feaunati.
Replacements: Campbell, Botterman, Muir, Aldcroft, Kabeya, Hunt, Heard, Dow.
