Donna Rose: Wales prop relishing WXV challenge after 'long slog' recovering from injury
- Published
WXV is 'icing on the cake' after dark days for Rose
Wales prop Donna Rose says she is "over the moon" to be part of the squad for the WXV1 tournament after being sidelined for a year through injury.
The 32-year-old snapped her anterior cruciate ligament and tore her meniscus in one of her first training sessions with Saracens following the World Cup.
But Rose has recovered in time to be part of Wales' WXV1 squad and returned for Sunday's famous 38-18 win over USA.
"It's been a long slog getting back to it but it was amazing," said Rose.
"When my name got announced that I'd made the squad to play USA I was absolutely over the moon, words couldn't describe it really.
"It was an amazing result for us and everyone played their part, it was for all of us."
Rose said she had some "dark days" during her recovery process, but added that players from both her club Saracens and the Wales camp helped her through.
"I was rehabbing away from Wales but I was still in contact with the girls," said Rose.
"Other girls were also rehabbing, that was nice, we had each others' backs.
"Having my teammates around is what really got me through. They were saying, 'It's all going to be okay', and to look at the end goal.
"There were dark days but then the next day was completely different."
"I set myself little goals and when I hit them it was a great feeling. The little goals in the rehab kept me going, not just the end goal of getting back playing.
"The final goal was to make the USA squad, to get a bit of game time, and the WXV was the icing on the cake."
Rose had a clean bill of health for the majority of her rugby career before the knee injury.
Suffering such a serious injury was made easier by the fact that as of the last few years Wales have professional, full-time contracts for the women's team.
Rose said if she had not been on a contract with the Welsh Rugby Union [WRU] "life could have been a lot worse" during her recovery.
Donna Rose (centre) was one of 12 players to receive the first Wales professional contracts for women
"I've never really had injuries so if I was going to have one it was going to be a big one," said Rose.
"I'm very grateful that I'm in the position that I am [contracted].
"I'm a carpenter so if I had that injury and we weren't professional I'd have been out of work for a long time, so I'm absolutely grateful for the position I'm in.
"When I did it I cried because I thought, 'Thank God I'm in the position that I'm in', because life could be a lot worse."
Rose and Wales' 30-strong squad travel to New Zealand next week to begin their WXV1 campaign, where they will face the Black Ferns, Australia and Canada.
Wales, ranked sixth in the world, qualified for the top tier of the new women's competition by finishing third in this year's Six Nations.
They begin the campaign against Canada on 21 October before facing New Zealand a week later and rounding off the competition against Australia.
"I'm looking forward to Canada, they're a physical team and we bring the edge, so I'm looking forward to that," Rose added.
"I think we've developed amazingly [since the World Cup], everyone's blossoming in their own little ways.
"We've come a long way and are a closer group now, learning core skills and getting coached in a great way and the team environment is lush."
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