Twelve years on from watching the Rugby World Cup as a teenager dreaming of representing England, Lydia Thompson wants nothing more than a second World Cup medal.
The scorer of one of the great Rugby World Cup tries in the 2017 final, Thompson’s relationship with the tournament has been one of highs and lows.
She crossed twice in the 2017 showpiece in France but was unable to save the Red Roses from final heartache as they went down to the Black Ferns in Belfast.
Three years prior, she was a part of Gary Street’s 2014 winning side, but it was a bittersweet moment for the 30-year-old when captain Katy Daley-McLean hoisted the trophy aloft, with Thompson having been ruled out of the tournament during the pool stage with a groin injury.
And her middling relationship with the World Cup goes back as far as 2010, when Thompson watched on as a fan when England were once again edged out by New Zealand.
“I was just blown away by the physicality and the athleticism,” said Thompson, recalling her memories of the defeat.
“I saw the girls lose in the final and they looked vulnerable. I just thought, wow, they care, they’ve done so much for that shirt and to lose, I think that really stuck with me.
“So then to find myself a few years later in the 2014 squad, I couldn’t have dreamt that it would happen to someone like me.”
Thompson made her international debut just two years after that nail-biting 13-10 loss and quickly established herself as one of the fastest and most dangerous young talents in world rugby.
Fast forward to November 2021, and Thompson scored a brace on her 50th England cap on her home ground, Sixways Stadium, and her international record now stands at 45 tries in just 57 caps.
Prolific and pacey in equal measure, she has become a key part of Simon Middleton’s all-conquering squad, though the Stourbridge-born star admits she remains in awe of her teammates’ skillsets.
“There’s such a great calibre of players. I feel so lucky to be pushed constantly by the back three options that we’ve got,” she said.
“There’s Jess (Breach), an incredible runner, fantastic all-round game, and she’s constantly pushing me to be a better player.
“Then Abby Dow, we all know what she brings, she’s just unstoppable once she’s got ball-in-hand and she’s so strong around the park.
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“And then you’ve got the other full-backs and wingers, like Ellie Kildunne and Sarah McKenna, I just wish I had half of what they have a lot of the time, they make it look so easy with such a variety of skills.
“I wouldn’t want to be Simon Middleton making those selection decisions!”
Thompson certainly did her World Cup selection chances no harm during the 2022 Women’s TikTok Six Nations, where she scored a hat-trick against Italy and a double against Ireland as England were crowned Grand Slam champions.
And though this England team have made winning a habit, remaining undefeated since July 2019, Thompson says this year’s Women’s TikTok Six Nations campaign was one of the most significant yet.
“As a team, we showed that we can go back, review a performance and then build on it the next week, and I think we’re really happy with that process that we’re building,” she said.
“I think, in the Six Nations, we learned just how much we need to grow as a team and keep pushing our development going into this World Cup.”
Thompson will of course hope that she can make it third time lucky at Eden Park on November 12th and finish on the winning side of a World Cup final.
The omens, to some extent, are positive. England’s 2014 campaign started with a seismic win over a pacific islands side, Samoa, and history repeated itself in their 2021 Rugby World Cup opener, against Fiji, with Thompson crossing twice on both occasions.
Red Roses fans will be praying that Thompson stays injury free this time around, though she says she finds it hard to believe that she is even in contention for yet another shot at rugby’s ultimate prize.
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“It’s an incredible honour to be part of a World Cup team,” she said.
“Did I expect this? Absolutely not, I never expected to get capped once.
“To be honest, I just was a kid that loved rugby, I didn’t know women could really play when I started playing it.
“It was just a fun game and an opportunity to meet with some awesome people.”
