Mae Sagapolu is eagerly anticipating Loughborough Lightning‘s forwards testing themselves this weekend up against Bristol Bears’ star-laden pack.
The hosts could have the likes of Red Roses World Cup winners Abbie Ward, Hannah Botterman, Lark Atkin-Davies and Sarah Bern in their squad on Sunday when the sides meet at Shaftesbury Park.
And USA international Sagapolu is relishing the Premiership Women’s Rugby Round 7 clash – as the African Violets seeks to strengthen their top-four position heading into Christmas.
“I am excited for out set-piece,” said the 25-year-old. “Our pack is very clinical. I am very happy and excited about what kind of opportunities we can seize for ourselves, what can we make for ourselves. Bristol have one of the best packs and I want to test ourselves and I want to see where we are, where we stand, how do we cope? How do we fix things on the go?
Sagapolu made her fifth Lightning appearance in the 33-15 loss at the StoneX Stadium last time out. The African Violets fought their way back from 12 points down to lead entering the final third of the encounter, and that ability to weather a storm was something the prop took pride in when reflecting on the contest.
“We were able to be scrappy when we needed to be,” she said. “When the momentum was going against us, we had grit still, we still had heart and were still trying to win the game.
“That is what I loved about the team, there’s so much belief that no matter what the score looks like, we will always come back, we will always fix it. We will have that momentum shift. Instead of waiting for that opportunity to come, we are creating that for ourselves and I think that is what I am really proud of.
“Instead of allowing the momentum to crush us, we fought back every single time. There was no part of the game where I thought we gave up.”
Sagapolu joined Lightning from East Midlands rivals Leicester Tigers following her participation in the World Cup, and has hit the ground running for her new club.
“Even playing against Lightning, I knew that there was a tang to this team, now being a part of it, the girls are so close,” she added. “The training is intense but everyone is on the same page, but we all know what we are trying to do, we all know what we are trying to achieve. We all understand what we have to sacrifice in order to get it.”