‘Punched in the face in the pool of death’ – Diary of an Olympic hopeful

Irish Women's Sevens star Megan Williams writes, this week, about some tough times in Sao Paulo as Rio 2016 edges closer.

'This is only a small chapter of our entire success story.' We recently arrived back to Dublin from our second taste of International Rugby Sevens at its highest level as a new and inexperienced squad. Finishing 12th in San Paulo was a real punch in the face. Literally. Thankfully, there was no broken nose for me this time round. https://twitter.com/Megan91Williams/status/601687494929817600/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw The second leg of the HSBC World Rugby Women's Sevens Series took place in the Arena Barker Stadium, Brazil. We were drawn in Pool C with Canada, Australia, and Fiji. With Canada and Australia reaching the cup finals and Fiji coming 4th it was clear we were part of a group labelled 'Pool of Death'. Variable experience and lessons were taken from our training trip from Australia, including the scorching weather with an added bonus of humidity. Thankfully we acclimatised well. Even if it did feel like you were running around in a sauna all day, it didn’t faze us because we had been building up to this moment for two weeks. We felt quietly confident, exited and all couldn’t wait to pull that green jersey on. As a team new to the World Series we had absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Day 1

Our games got better and better as Day 1 progressed but we failed to come away with any wins. We came pretty damn close though. At crucial times, we failed to keep the ball, especially in the breakdown which killed us. If we had kept the ball and ran through the phases we would have got a few more tries. No doubt. Our confidence had been shaken but we had to put our faith in the process, this is only a small chapter of our entire success story. From day one our confidence was under stress because of the results with defeats against teams we felt we should have beaten. That alone is a lot of hardship to bear. I always viewed these moments as a chance to quietly lead by example because I had experienced this feeling, two years previous, in the World Series. I felt the best contribution I could make was to keep spirits high.

P O O L V I B E S ✌? 3 In a tub ??? Ice bathing after are training session in the scorchhhhher heat ? @eimearconsidine @clairekeohane Great session to get the ? legs working 3 more sleeps ???? #worldseries #womensfitness #recovery #replenish #fitness #fitspo #irelandontour #rugbygirls #tublife #motivation #trainhard #brazil #instadaily #instapost #wednesday

A photo posted by MEGAN WILLIAMS (@meganwfitness) on Feb 17, 2016 at 5:18pm PST

I didn't want the other girls to feel my disappointment too. We all had to be strong for each other. Sticking together was the main priority leading into Day 2. Results

• Canada: [L] 26-7
• Australia: [L] 15-5
• Fiji: [L] 15-7

Day 2

So here we were, gathered in the changing room and huddled tight around each other waiting for the whistle to call us through the tunnel. We would be fighting for 9th place but we felt confident. We were to play Russia and Spain in the playoffs. This was hugely encouraging for us because we will have to face them in June when Dublin host the world repêchage at UCD Bowl. This is when 16 teams from around the world fight for the last remaining spot to the Olympics in Rio. We had a point to prove and the time was now. Nerves were sky-high.

Its all about day 2 we're coming atchaaaaaaa 12 as one ?? Can't wait to take the field today with these fierce girls ? #ireland7s #worldseries #wallofgreen #sanpaolo A photo posted by MEGAN WILLIAMS (@meganwfitness) on Feb 21, 2016 at 2:07am PST

As the weeks progressed, during our time away, we became a group of close, strong, fierce women all striving to do there best in the green jersey for one another. However, with the lack of experience playing together we panicked and crumbled under pressure. The reaction at half time was to be expected we needed to inspire a complete turnaround. Russia had most of the possession and when we did get the ball we had poor execution. Sloppy defence meant we were down 15-0 at the break. Following an inspirational dressing room speech, we re-took the field knowing what we had to do to win. We gave it our everything and breached their defences but ran out of time. It was over. We had finished 12th.

Valuable experience

The defeats we had in our three and half weeks away has given us un-quantifiable value for the future. Many people always ask what can we ask of the coach? Very little. It is about the players getting into the position to win every game. Preparing mentally and physically for what's ahead of us. Rugby Sevens is a very tough game. You only get seven minutes to prove your worth with the rest of the time dominated by recovery and preparation. There are so many variables that can derail those seven minutes. As a team, we have to conquer them so we can be the best we can be. We next compete in Atlanta, in five weeks time. In the meantime, we’re training hard and working on the ‘little things’ that we identified as a team in video analysis. This, I fell, will savagely improve our game. Watch this space. The only way is up. *Follow @megan91williams on Twitter and Instagram @meganwfitness for all the inside updates from the squad.