A matter of months after moving from blindside flanker to loosehead prop, the Gwalia Lightning and Cardiff Met player was in Parma facing some of the best front rows in Europe – and thriving. And not only that, but Maisie is still only 18 years old, competing against a predominantly U20 playing field. Three tries in three matches represented an excellent return for the youngster.
“It was special to receive the award,” says Maisie, who hails from Dunvant, a former coal mining village that skirts the Gower Peninsula. “Especially when no one really sees what goes on behind closed doors. It's been a hard few months' training, so it was nice. The position change has taken a lot – mentally more than physically, probably - and then going to and from different training camps.”
She was open-minded about the move when the idea was first put to her. “I said I'd give it a go. It's completely different to playing at six, but I was happy to do it. Then I got pulled into the senior Six Nations training squad and found I actually loved it. I think it suits my game a lot.”
Since then, she has been working with Mike Hill from the senior Wales set-up and Dan Murphy of Wales U20 and Gloucester-Hartpury, refining her understanding of her new role. Being named MVP so soon after making that leap to the front row suggests all that hard work has paid off. “There were some dark times when I was questioning how much do I really love this,” she admits, “but times like now mean it was really worth it.”
The whole Women’s Summer Series has been one to cherish, she says. “It was brilliant. I thought the scores didn’t reflect our games. People only ever see an 80-minute performance on the pitch, not how much we've grown as a team. We played the Army about three months ago and how much we've grown together since then - scoring four tries against England, for example – is great.
“On the pitch, seeing how together we are as a team, and then off the pitch, how well we all get on and do things together. It's a nice environment to be in.”
What does she think contributed to her MVP success? “I think how we played as a team and little things like getting quick ball at the breakdown, which gets us on the front foot and gives me a good line to run. How everyone knew I was new to the position and how they supported me on the pitch - so the flankers bigging me up before a scrum, or off the pitch when they can see I’m struggling in a training session and they say, ‘Come on, Maisie, you’ve got this’. They were supportive no matter if they were playing in your position or not.”
Maisie spoke ahead of the Women’s Summer Series about how the training camps had already changed her outlook on the game and her role in it. How does she feel now, with the campaign now under her belt? “Every game was different, meaning I learnt something new,” she answers. “Little things like when I came off the bench against France, having been able to observe the game in the first half, to then going into the England game with a completely different mindset.
“I realise it might not always go my way in scrums, so it’s how I react off the scrums, because I’m not just there to scrummage. So if a scrum goes down and I give a penalty away, it’s how I get up and react to that and do something positive around the park.”
She feels in good company with her fellow MVP winners from the other nations. “They're all brilliant players. I thought it was a really good tournament and there were so many players that trophy could have gone to. Personally, the Women’s Summer Series gave me a lot of game time, which is something you just can’t buy.”
