Holly Aitchison was nominated for Women's Six Nations player of the tournament and her former teacher Gill Burns says the England fly-half is the most determined sports woman she's ever seen.
Burns, 58, taught Aitchison as well as England back row Sarah Beckett at Range high school in Formby, and is delighted to have played a part in their rise to Grand Slam champions.
She said: “I played touch rugby at Waterloo RFC alongside Sarah Beckett when she was 12 and I was an old veteran in a tournament we won. Holly Aitchison and Sarah were both in my school house.
“I've watched them both grow as mini and junior players, I know both their dads from them playing at Waterloo and it's lovely to see them go on and become world class players in their own right.”
Former back row Burns, who played in four World Cups and captained England between 1994-1999, is delighted that Saracens star Aitchison is finally able to show what she's capable of internationally in the fly-half position.
She said: “I've always seen Holly as a 10. To her credit, she can fit in anywhere in that backline, she really is a utility player but that almost stood against her because that's how they were looking at her when she first came into the squad.
“She's now playing so well at 10 that she's getting other players in the backline into the game brilliantly.”
Aitchison, 25, led the tournament in try assists (six) as she marshalled the Grand Slam winners in Zoe Harrison's absence (ACL injury), but Burns believes her former student will now be determined to improve on her goal kicking.
She said: “She'll be working extra hard, doing extra goal kicking to get her place kicking a little bit better. It's good but the problem is you've got several other players who are currently playing that are all good place kickers but none of them are quite world class yet. Zoe Harrison had that quality, so Holly will be making sure she takes over that goal kicking duty in the future because she's been the most determined sports woman I've ever seen in my 32 years of teaching. She's a very talented all-rounder but if there's a way to get better, Holly will find it.”
Burns is ecstatic about the growth of the women's game and enjoyed the Six Nations fever that grasped the whole country, even in non-rugby areas like her home county of Merseyside.
She added: “I do a quiz once a week in my local pub and there were big signs advertising two games, one was the women's football and the other was the women's Six Nations. I'd just loved the poster because there wasn't a men's game on there. This general Wetherspoons in a non-rugby area had these posters on the wall in the middle of Liverpool.
“Having women's players faces flashing up between programmes on terrestrial TV, and becoming household names is amazing. My former teammate said her son was playing Rugby Nations on his phone and decided to be England women as it was a no brainer for him. The fact children are growing up knowing it's a game for women and appreciating the good standard of rugby being played is incredible as these are the steps forward we've been looking for.” n Gill Burns is an ambassador for Wooden Spoon, the children's charity of rugby who fund life-changing projects to support vulnerable children and young people across the UK and Ireland.
