The wing of England, Claudia Macdonald, says he has overcome his fear of leaving the house after recovering from a second neck injury to return to the configuration of the red roses.
Macdonald, who can also play in Scrum-Half, was discarded from last six female nations after suffering a second neck injury in February 2024.
He followed his first neck injury in 2022, which made Exeter Chiefs services company consider retirement.
The 29-year-old returned to the Female Rugby defeat by Exeter’s Women’s Rugby by the eventual Gloucester-Hartpury champion in December 2024 and since then has been retired to the Six Nations team in England.
Speaking before the roses begin the defense of their title against Italy in York on Sunday, Macdonald said he was “terrified” of being close to anything related to rugby.
“I made a Tackle and the second second was on the floor I couldn’t move my arms or legs, so it was quite scary in the first moments,” MacDonald said Wednesday.
“In the first months, playing was not even on the radar, it was about trying to think about what had happened.
“I was terrified of being close to a rugby field or a rugby ball. He didn’t want me to get away from the wall, since I didn’t want anything behind me because I was afraid of being beaten.
“I barely left my house and they told me not to enter a car, so everything was quite scary, but fortunately we spent all that.”
Macdonald says he had to learn to trust his body again, but being gathered with his clubmates reminded him of why he wanted to return to action.
