CENTURION Emily Scarratt believes banishing the booze on a post A-Level holiday bash kickstarted her record-breaking rugby journey.
The England centre, 32, will bring up her 100th cap when the Red Roses take on Ireland in the TikTok Women’s Six Nations at Welford Road on Sunday.
Emily Scarratt will earn her 100th capGetty
Scarratt has racked up a record haul of 640 points since her debut against the USA in 2008 and is now one of the undisputed superstars of the booming women’s game.
The Loughborough Lightning ace received her first England call-up – from former boss Gary Street – aged 18 while on a girls’ holiday to Cyprus but has no regrets at ‘toning things down’ as she celebrates a ‘crazy’ career milestone.
She said: “You know that holiday you go on after your A-Levels with all your friends?
“The first one without your parents and you’re having a good time, basically.
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“Gary Street, the coach at the time, called me and asked if I wanted to be part of the Nations Cup squad.
“So the rest of the holiday took a slightly different slant for me!
“Most of my friends still had a great time, but I had to tone it down a little bit!
“It was quite a good story.
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“It’s a little bit crazy – every time the number has come up, the girls have been giving me the big one.
“But genuinely, I’ve tried not to think about it – I know how fragile this sport can be at times and how you shouldn’t take anything for granted.
“It’s definitely something I never set out to achieve, so it’s hard to get my head around.”
Scarratt starts in the midfield this weekend as Simon Middleton’s resurgent Red Roses aim to clinch their 22nd win on the spin.
England sit at the top of the TikTok Women’s Six Nations standings after breezing past Scotland, Italy and Wales, level on points with France ahead of a hotly-anticipated fifth round showdown next weekend.
Scarratt will bring up her landmark at her home ground and the Leicester-born star added: “It’s mad. If you were to write about it and make it the best it could possibly be, I think this would be the script.
“We used to have season tickets there when I was growing up – so I’ve got some really fond memories of the place.
“I don’t know who’s writing the script – but I definitely owe them a drink or two!”
ITALY VS SCOTLAND
SCOTLAND are aiming to put an end to a five-year losing streak against Italy in Saturday’s TikTok Women’s Six Nations clash in Parma – but will have to do it without star player Jade Konkel.
The inspirational No.8 has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament with a rib injury, a major blow to Bryan Easson’s side.
But Emma Wassell, whose run of 54 consecutive appearances ended when she missed defeat to France last time out, is back in the second row.
And Easson is hopeful that the increased depth in the squad can help end a run of five consecutive losses since a 14-12 win back in 2017.
In fact Italy have won 13 of the last 14 meetings between the sides, with Scotland winless away to the Azzurre since 1999.
For the Scotland coach though, this is an opportunity to show the progress the team have made as well as picking up a first win of the campaign.
He said: “We’ve made a few changes to the starting team which reflects the depth that we are looking to build but it also shows the positive growth of this group.
“The players have really been pushing each other for places during training this week, which is really pleasing to see ahead of the World Cup.
“Unfortunately, Jade Konkel has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament through injury, but it does present that opportunity to others in such an important year.
“With two away games remaining, we want to close out our campaign with more clinical and composed performances against Italy and Ireland.
“We know that Italy typically play from deep within their territory and kick less than most teams in the tournament, so we know what to expect and have prepared accordingly.”
For Italy, who are also winless, experienced back-rower Ilaria Arrighetti returns for his first game of the campaign, while Michela Sillari is also back after she was one of the late withdrawals in Ireland because of a Covid outbreak in the squad.
The TikTok Women’s Six Nations is more accessible than ever before. To find out how you can watch the Women’s Championship visit: womens.sixnationsrugby.com/tv/