From Yeovil legend to 100 caps

‘It’s amazing’ – England captain Packer set for 100th capWomen’s Six Nations: Italy v EnglandVenue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma Date: Sunday, 24 March Kick-off: 15:00 GMTCoverage: Watch live on BBC Two, BBC iPlayer and online; text commentary, highlights and report on BBC Sport website and app.The 100-cap club is for legends only.

Sarah Hunter, Rocky Clark, Katy Daley-McLean, Tamara Taylor, Emily Scarratt and Amy Garnett are the six Englishwomen to have reached that coveted milestone.

On Sunday against Italy in the Women’s Six Nations, that number becomes seven when England captain Marlie Packer leads out her team.

The 34-year-old flanker has played with all six previous centurions and is struggling to comprehend entering such a historic club.

“I think about the players before me who have got 100 caps and I am just like ‘wow’,” Packer told BBC Sport.

“I had to ask my manager for 16/17 tickets [to the game] the other day and the maximum allocation you can have on the app was six.”

The Yeovil native made her international debut in 2008 against Sweden, but only played 40 minutes and did not feature again for more than three years.

“It wasn’t an environment that was a nice, open and welcoming place that it is today,” Packer said.

“I had just turned 18, knew nobody and didn’t enjoy the whole experience.

“The time between my first and second cap was the Marlie Packer you see today – I have evolved since then.”

She went on to establish herself as an important player for the 2014 Rugby World Cup in France.

World Cup glory followed and Packer’s local rugby club framed her photo with the trophy alongside Martin Johnson lifting the men’s version, signifying her local legend status.

Guide to the teams as England seek to retain titleRugby Union Daily: The big Women’s Six Nations previewThe desire to reach 100 caps and become the best player in the world drove her to new heights, after initial doubts.

While out walking her dogs a few years ago, Packer was on the phone to Alex Austerberry, her coach at Saracens, questioning if she was still good enough to start for the Red Roses.

“I was in a bit of a predicament about where my career was going,” she said. “New players were coming into England and was I falling out of favour.

“We had a conversation about winning World Player of the Year. I thought I am not going to win that, but I would like a goal of getting to 100 caps.

“Alex and I have straight and honest conversations and he said it was doable, ‘you just need to get your head down and work on the things we are telling you to work on’.”

Packer started the 2014 World Cup final against Canada at blind-side flankerDoing exactly that, more caps and trophies followed before she took over the England captaincy from Hunter during the 2023 Six Nations.

The responsibility elevated her performances to help England record another Six Nations Grand Slam and partially avenge their World Cup final defeat in 2022, by winning the inaugural WXV1 tournament against the Black Ferns on their own patch.

The England captain was then named World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year for 2023.

“My 99th cap was very special, we won WXV in New Zealand off the back of a year before where we lost that World Cup over there,” she recalled.

“It was a very special moment to then pick up World Player of the Year and an epic way to end that tournament.”

WXV signalled the start of a new era under head coach John Mitchell, who has taken over from Simon Middleton and retained Packer as his skipper for this year’s Six Nations.

“When you are in her presence she is simple and is just herself which is what I love about her,” Mitchell told BBC Sport.

“She leads with her actions which probably suits me as when I look back on my past I was probably that type of player.

“You can see that Marlie has grown as a person, she is really refreshing as a leader and people look up to her, which is fantastic.”

Back-to-back Grand Slams as captain will be the goal before Packer’s attention turns to 2025 and a home World Cup.

Will Yeovil Rugby Club need to find room for another photo on the wall next year?