Playing for your country in a World Cup brings immense pressure, and doing so on home soil takes the stakes to another level entirely.
Red Roses prop Maud Muir experienced exactly that last September, helping England secure a home Rugby World Cup victory before a record women’s rugby crowd of 81,885.
England cricket all-rounder Freya Kemp, preparing for this summer’s home T20 World Cup, wanted advice from Muir—something that caught the prop off guard.
When asked via a video message for her top piece of guidance, Muir replied: “Embrace it. Embrace having so many home fans, and make sure you have an escape. You’re so familiar with your surroundings that you can go home and relax a bit more.”
Muir played a key role for John Mitchell’s side throughout the World Cup, known for her powerful ball-carrying and scrummaging.
With England on track for an eighth consecutive Six Nations title and having been part of Gloucester-Hartpury’s three straight Premiership Women’s Rugby crowns, Muir is no stranger to success.
But that wasn’t the only reason Kemp had the chance to ask the star prop a question.
At 24, Muir was a passionate cricketer in her youth before rising to become one of the world’s best front rows.
Her sporting year was split: rugby in winter, cricket in summer.
“I eventually had to choose between the two, and unfortunately I wasn’t as good at cricket,” Muir said.
“I guess I played cricket because my mum loved it—she hated watching rugby as she was scared of me getting injured. I was really grateful to play cricket for so many years.
“We were a cricket family. My brother still plays, and my dad was part of the Redbat Cricket Club. Every summer we’d go there with family and friends to play.
“I fielded and didn’t really bat or bowl. Sometimes I’d wicket-keep. I was just throwing myself around the cricket field.”
Known for “boshing”—a term England forwards use for swatting aside defenders—Muir smiled when talking about the skill.
She believes “bosh” is the correct term.
“It’s about running into someone and boshing them, or tackling them and boshing them,” Muir explained.
Quiet and humble off the pitch, the former Wasps front row is a powerful athlete who thrives on physical confrontation.
Given she’s “too aggressive” to return to cricket, Muir hopes one day to have a pottery room at the back of her house, complete with a wheel and kiln.
Leading from the front also happens on the team bus, where “Maud’s Tours” has become a regular feature.
“It started last Six Nations in York. I sit at the front because my little mate Lucy Packer gets travel sick,” she said.
“I’m always at the front, and the mic is always there. I started with a tour of York, and it’s stuck. I forget every week that I’m doing it.
“It’s last-minute, trying to gather as many facts as I can. True or false. They could be false because Meg Jones likes to send me stuff.”
The next destination is Parma—yet to be researched by Muir—where Italy hosts the world champions on Saturday.
England sit top of the Six Nations table with three bonus-point wins over Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
