A quieter month - that was May then

When the season is in full swing, many of us dream of a break - "ah, the summer", but it always appears a long, long way off.
And before you know it - May arrives, the end of the season looms and, after about three weeks, I'm climbing the walls and looking forwards to 7s, August and pre-season.

Not that May has been without its rugby ups and downs. At the end of April I was fortunate enough to attended the RFU's Panel Evaluation Conference - a selection weekend for the National Panel.
Although I was pleased with how the weekend went (and I figured I did myself justice in the various "trials" - including one by knife and fork at a formal dinner) the news at the beginning of May was disappointing. I didn't make the cut, and the reason was my pace, or, more importantly, perceived lack of it.

It was good to hear some positive feedback about other areas of my game (and yes, there are some!) but the powers that be felt I lacked the pace to progress beyond National Three (as it stands).

But a good thing to hear was the RFU's intended pathway for continued progression towards next year's Women's World Cup, in England. A meeting in the summer with the RFU will enlighten me more, so it wasn't all doom and gloom!

As for the rest of May - I've taken it fairly leisurely I have to admit (despite a 7s tourno), although it has been great to see some of the referees I met at the 7s World Cup in Dubai doing really well. Two have made their debuts in the middle of Super 14 matches, and others have popped up in the Magners League and at further iRB 7s Series events.

So, while my hamstrings have been glad of the break, a 5k race breathed some life back into the lungs this weekend, although little disappointed I didn't set a new personal best. Thinking about it, a club annual dinner the night before did not help matters.

Here's to more 7s in June and July and a two-week trip to Canada in August. In the meantime, there's the small matter of shifting a few pounds and beating my 5k pb!