WEBVTT
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This is Tackling the Trade with Marlee Packer.
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And me, Steph Lees.
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This show is created by women for women in the trade.
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We'll be tackling the real issues women face in the industry,
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share honest stories, and celebrate the highs and lows of
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everything in between. But most importantly, it's about creating a
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platform to inspire, empower, and encourage the next generation of
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women in the trade. tradie ladies to get out there
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and make their mark.
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Right, everyone, you're all used to me, but we now
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have a new podcast host called Marley Packer.
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Hello, Marley.
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Hey. Marley, I wanted you to introduce yourself now. I mean,
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you're mega famous to me, right, and everyone else in
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the world, right? But just in case there's anybody who
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hasn't heard of you, who are you?
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So my name's Marley Packer. I'm an open side flanker
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for the Red Roses and Harlequins women. I grew up
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in a town called Yeovil in Somerset, so I'm a
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West Country girl. And for me, I'm a tradie, so
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I'm a level three qualified plumber. And yeah, that's probably...
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What there is to know about me.
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So, sorry, what was your title again? A something something flanker?
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An open side flanker. Right, okay. So I hang on
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the side of the scrum and look good. There's a
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lot more technical aspect to it. So I play with
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the number seven on my back.
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Oh, best number in the world. Well, it is in
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football anyway.
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Yeah, no, it is. I'll put myself up there with
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David Beckham, Ronaldo. Yeah, nice. I like that. I haven't
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really thought about that before. But no, for me, look,
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Open side flanker, you've got to put your head where
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most people wouldn't dream of putting their head in a game. Oh,
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my word. You just play the game on the line,
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so you need to make sure you stay the right
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side of the line for the referee. But, yeah, for me,
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it's my favourite position. I started off as a hooker
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and I've slowly moved out of the scrum and onto
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the edge.
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I could say something to that, but I'm not going to. So, OK,
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so you started your life in trade.
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Yes.
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So it was plumbing, yeah? What made you want to
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be a plumber?
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Well... I started life as a trader. I actually started
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life as a labourer for some brickies.
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Oh, nice.
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So during college holidays, summer holidays, I was working as
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a labourer for a brickie company back in Yeovil. I
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got paid like a good whack a week. It was
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like 200 quid a week.
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And a few pints on a Friday night.
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Yeah, and a few pints on a Friday night for...
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for a game on a Saturday so it was absolutely
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fine but um yeah to me like 200 quid was
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loads of money back then I was I was laughing
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so I just kind of like thought right I'm not
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very academic I'm dyslexic um for me the worst thing
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would be to be sat in an office doing paperwork
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I just couldn't do that kind of job yeah from
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school I got sent to do like sports courses which
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I love playing sport but coaching when I was at
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that age I didn't want to do so From college,
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spoke to like a careers advisor and actually England Rugby
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put me in touch with this person.
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Wow.
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And because I was like playing semi-international, but it wasn't
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like a full-time role. Like you paid to play for
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your country back then. It wasn't like your country played
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for you. So you needed to make sure you had
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a career, that you had money coming in because actually
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rugby wasn't a job back then. Wow.
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Was that for women or men?
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No, just women, just women back then. Oh, that's nice,
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isn't it? Yeah, that's nice. But, like, the game is
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professional now, and, like, I've seen the transition from not
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being professional to this professional era that we're in. And, like,
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I've won two World Cups, one of them in 2014.
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We were paying to play for our country. Wow. Whereas
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now in 2025, we sold out Allianz Stadium. Yeah, watched.
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And we're proper professional, and I've seen that transition for players.
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you know just the whole program how it's grown and
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what it's like for women to be a part of
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rugby but also I've seen how in the decades that
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I've been part of sport part of rugby that how
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many more women are participating but also absolutely nailing it
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I think it's been a summer of women's sport but
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definitely going back to me as a tradie so rugby
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got me in touch with a career advisor Plumbing, I
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seen on site while I was doing the labouring.
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Yeah.
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Thought, oh, I'd like to have a go at that.
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So did that. But the hardest thing was for me
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is getting an apprenticeship.
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It still is.
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Yeah, I think it is for a lot of, well,
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for a lot of people, but especially women. So my
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mum actually, her friend, he actually did gas fireplaces with
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a little bit of plumbing alongside. Very, if I spoke,
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very niche fireplaces. So, but it was enough to get
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me onto my apprenticeship.
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Yeah.
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I was with him for a year and a half.
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Then I transferred over to a one-man band, which I
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lasted within probably a month and a half. It was
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the worst month and a half of my life. Really? Yeah.
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And then I got on with a company called D.R.
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Jones of Yeovil. It's a massive company now in the Southwest. Yeah.
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I finished my Level 3 course with them. I took
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over like a half a million pound contract doing kitchens
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and bathrooms.
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Wow.
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I got thrown a little bit in the deep end,
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but I absolutely loved it. And alongside that was doing
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my rugby.
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Yeah.
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From my first cap to my second cap, I had
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like a three-year gap.
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Yeah.
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And in that time, that's when I became qualified in staffing,
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got the job with D.R. Jones.
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Did you ever sleep at any point in that?
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Yeah, a few times if I went out on the beers,
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because when I was younger, I did used to live
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life to the full and definitely burn the candle both ends.
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Because that's got to be really hard, that, hasn't it?
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Holding down that job and playing rugby and trying to
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make a name for yourself via England. You know what
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I mean? That's not just like a hobby. That is
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like you've got to go full time with both of
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those things.
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Yeah. And I definitely did that. I think from my
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first cap to my second cap and like having that
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three year gap in that time, I'm like, I still
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played at England under 19s. I captained them at that level.
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But it wasn't as full on as the senior team.
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So I could do my plumbing and stuff. I remember
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to get my gas ticket. I had to fly out
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late to a Six Nations match in France. No way.
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Because I was doing my ticket on this day and
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I couldn't change it because it had been booked in
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for ages. So, yeah, and then flew out to France
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and won a Grand Slam in a Six Nations. Oh,
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my word. You are my hero. You really are my hero.
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And everybody else who's listening, I'm pretty sure about that.
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Wow. And it's women who work.
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That hard, isn't it? Yeah. It is women who work
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that hard. I mean, men give us the opportunity. You know,
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like you've just said, you've got an apprentice with a
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guy and... OK, the second one was a bit rubbish,
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but the first one, he showed you the niche fireplaces,
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et cetera. So, I mean, it's nice to celebrate people
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who put us in those positions. But as a woman,
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we have to work twice as hard to get where
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we are, I reckon.
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Yeah, definitely. And I think, you know, it's like that.
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It wasn't about me as a person or the qualifications
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or what I could bring. It was actually who you know,
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as in my mum's friend, to get me into that.
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And I think, you know, that's sometimes where it's a
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bit harder. And then you've got to show your worth.
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So for me, it was like I wanted to match
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up just as much as any other apprenticeship, whether it
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was a boy or a girl. So for me, it
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was just making sure that I kept smashing it. And
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I think I did that. I've always held my own,
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whether that's in the tools or on the pitch or
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in life.
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So when you were doing your quals, were you doing
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them on a part-time basis, like going to college release?
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Yeah, so I was... One day a week at college. Yeah.
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So I did that for three years. Wow. So you
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do like the first year, two years to get your
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level two. And then you do another year to get
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your level three. Right. And I did my unvented and
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gas ticket alongside that as well. So that was quite
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a full on year.
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Yeah, I was going to say, because that is... Is
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it what's it called now?
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Is it corgi or whatever? I don't know. Is it
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not called corgi anymore? It's gas safe now, isn't it?
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I haven't got a clue.
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Yeah, mine's throwing muck at walls. I don't have anything.
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But that's quite niche as well, because I would love
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to learn how to plaster.
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Well, you know what's going to happen now, isn't it?
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We're just going to have to have a little day
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where we have a little swap of the trades, and
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I'll throw some copper around, and you can throw some
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wood around, and we'll see what happens, most definitely. So, right,
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so you were on the tools. You were paying to
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play for England. Sorry, that is just... throw me that.
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I just didn't even know that was a thing. That
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has thrown me that.
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Yeah, well, like when I say play and paying to play,
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they would give you loss of earnings for work, but
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it'd be like 50 quid a day. And you're not
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earning 50 quid a day.
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No, you're not.
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When you're plumbing or when you're doing whatever. So obviously
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you're losing money. So that's more of where you're paying
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to play for your country. But After 2014, I was
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actually one of the real privileged and lucky players to
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be given a full-time contract in sevens. Wow. So obviously
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we're on a tradie podcast here, so if you don't
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know about rugby, there's a few different formats.
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Yeah, explain to me, because I'm a football girl, you're
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a rugby girl. This will either work or go down
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in flames.
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No, I think it's going to work. We're not too sure.
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I think we're all right.
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Yeah, we're safe, we're safe. But I think there's, in 15s,
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you've got 15 players on the pitch... It's a full
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size pitch. And then you have seven subs. Now I'm
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saying that I'm saying seven subs. Wow. So that you
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play for 80 minutes in sevens. So you have seven
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players on a full size pitch. It's seven minutes a half.
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And it was an Olympic sport. So we were. I
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was part of the first ever full-time professional contracted players
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to play for England and then eventually be a part
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of GB and then go to the Olympics in 2016. Wow,
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that is amazing. Unfortunately for me, I'm just going to
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put out there, I didn't manage to make it to
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the Olympics. um i didn't get the call up but
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i was part of that squad.
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Never to be actually in that selection group is amazing
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yeah absolutely amazing yeah.
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And honestly like you know every setback is you work
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something out for it so that was the first time
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i actually re-evaluated my life yeah when i left school
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and became a plumber Then went on this journey with
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rugby and how amazing it was when I didn't get
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selected for the Rio Olympics in 2016. It's the first
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time I evaluated life and being like, what have I
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actually got?
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Yeah.
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And that's when I decided I'm moving back to Bristol.
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I bought a house, completely renovated it, replumbed, rewired, learned
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a lot about myself. Yeah. And yeah, loved it. So. Actually,
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you know, with a downfall, you can always find something
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that brings you back up.
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I think that is part of it, isn't it? So
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what breaks you down, it ends up bringing you back stronger.
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You know what I mean?
246
00:10:46.980 --> 00:10:50.549
And it brings resilience. So you need that when you're playing.
247
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or when you're working on your own in the trades,
248
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it's hard sometimes. You know, you're working on your own.
249
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Your own best mate is sitting in the top of
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your head. You know what I mean?
251
00:11:00.139 --> 00:11:02.059
Having a conversation about you, saying, like, why are you
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doing this?
253
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Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. I'm sometimes in the van, me,
254
00:11:05.610 --> 00:11:08.330
and I'm thinking, oh, today, oh, I could have done
255
00:11:08.350 --> 00:11:10.509
without that today and all that. And before I realise,
256
00:11:10.529 --> 00:11:12.649
I'm actually talking to myself. But, you know, I actually
257
00:11:12.669 --> 00:11:14.169
get some sense out of me rather than going to
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him to my husband. So anyway, where are you at now?
259
00:11:17.590 --> 00:11:18.490
So what are you doing now?
260
00:11:19.090 --> 00:11:21.889
So I am currently still a full-time athlete with the
261
00:11:21.929 --> 00:11:26.750
Red Roses. Love what I do with them. I think
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they're such an inspiring group of players and people. The
263
00:11:32.830 --> 00:11:35.029
thing that we had a new coach come in, I reckon,
264
00:11:35.070 --> 00:11:37.690
four or five years ago now, John Mitchell, and he
265
00:11:37.730 --> 00:11:42.850
just let us be our own authentic selves. Yeah. And
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every character within the squad, if we can connect and
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know a deeper level of each other, we'd be stronger
268
00:11:50.190 --> 00:11:53.269
as a squad. And since he's come in, we've had
269
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a really good relationship. I was his captain for a
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couple of years. Then, obviously, we had to have the
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conversation that he's changed the captain, but actually, I think
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that made us stronger as a team. As a coach player,
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we've gone on to win back-to-back Grand Slams, WXVs, and
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00:12:10.379 --> 00:12:14.750
then obviously the World Cup here in 2025 was just sensational.
275
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Yeah, I did watch that. I was like, yes, come on.
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00:12:17.470 --> 00:12:19.960
But all the girls were all... You know, it was
277
00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:23.740
very inspirational because like you say, every single girl on
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00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:27.220
that field had their own personality that any young girl
279
00:12:27.279 --> 00:12:29.320
watching could identify with.
280
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Yeah, and relate to as well. And I think that's
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the thing like with us as players, but also as people,
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we want to relate to them. We want them to
283
00:12:41.899 --> 00:12:44.120
be able to feel that they can aspire to be
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anything like seven-year-old me. would have never dreamt of literally
285
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being sat here in this room with you, but actually
286
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being able to say that I helped a team lift
287
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the World Cup and a home World Cup.
288
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Amazing.
289
00:12:56.360 --> 00:12:59.039
That I've managed to travel the world, have friends all
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over the world. Like, it's mad to even think about it.
291
00:13:01.639 --> 00:13:03.220
It's a life beyond your wildest dreams, isn't it? Yes,
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00:13:03.299 --> 00:13:06.350
it is. And all I've ever done is go out
293
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there and worked really hard at the things I enjoy
294
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doing in like, you know, there are days when you're
295
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at work or you're in a dark place training and thinking,
296
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why the hell am I doing this? Like this is,
297
00:13:18.049 --> 00:13:20.090
like I'm in a dark place and you've got that
298
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voice in your head. But actually, when you get over that,
299
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there's so many better highs and like so much enjoyment
300
00:13:28.129 --> 00:13:30.139
out of it. And for me, I've now got a
301
00:13:30.200 --> 00:13:34.320
five-year-old son going on 15, which is crazy because he's
302
00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:36.820
got a cheek about him. But yeah, no, he's six
303
00:13:36.860 --> 00:13:39.460
in a couple of days. Oh, bless him. He's perfect.
304
00:13:39.500 --> 00:13:42.179
But like, I want to be able to prove to him,
305
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doesn't matter whether he's male or not, that if you
306
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put your mind to it and you're enjoying what you're doing,
307
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you can achieve anything. Not one boot fits all. It's
308
00:13:53.509 --> 00:13:55.669
like not one tool's going to fix everything, is it?
309
00:13:55.730 --> 00:13:57.830
So I could be doing everything with a spanner, but
310
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it's not going to help you as a plasterer. No,
311
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it's not.
312
00:14:00.149 --> 00:14:00.929
I'll throw it at you.
313
00:14:01.210 --> 00:14:02.970
Yeah, that's literally it.
314
00:14:03.230 --> 00:14:06.700
So, yeah, so your family life, you've just moved clubs,
315
00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:07.240
haven't you?
316
00:14:07.299 --> 00:14:07.929
So you....
317
00:14:09.299 --> 00:14:13.120
We're playing for Saracens. So I've been Saracens for nine years.
318
00:14:14.559 --> 00:14:17.879
Joined them back in 2017 after the 2017 World Cup.
319
00:14:18.470 --> 00:14:21.570
Loved my journey there with them, been great. Then a
320
00:14:22.370 --> 00:14:25.210
lot happened at the club. A lot of financial stuff
321
00:14:25.230 --> 00:14:28.350
happened at the club. They couldn't offer me a contract
322
00:14:28.450 --> 00:14:31.990
on the timelines that I needed it. I've got a
323
00:14:32.009 --> 00:14:35.320
baby on the way with my partner, Rosie. Yeah. I
324
00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:39.779
needed some stability. I can't say the word. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Stability.
325
00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:41.440
You needed stability. Yeah, I needed some of that in
326
00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:43.210
my life. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I needed to make
327
00:14:43.299 --> 00:14:43.730
sure that.
328
00:14:45.289 --> 00:14:47.990
That basically financially that we're in a good place going
329
00:14:48.029 --> 00:14:50.820
into this year. Saracens couldn't do that at the time
330
00:14:50.860 --> 00:14:52.440
for me. They had a lot of changes, a lot
331
00:14:52.460 --> 00:14:55.600
of things going on. I spoke to another club, Harlequins.
332
00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:00.240
They offered me what I was happy with. They also
333
00:15:00.259 --> 00:15:02.139
were only 20 minutes down the road from me, whereas
334
00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:05.220
Saracens is like an hour and 15. But I wanted
335
00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:09.220
to finish my last year with Saracens. I'm a loyal girl.
336
00:15:09.649 --> 00:15:12.419
I love the place and everything. But actually, I'm really
337
00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:15.080
excited for this new chapter because, you know, you can
338
00:15:15.100 --> 00:15:16.419
get comfortable in a place.
339
00:15:16.620 --> 00:15:16.820
Yeah.
340
00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:19.679
Like you can turn up. You've got like people know
341
00:15:19.740 --> 00:15:22.879
you like, you know, your body and all this kind
342
00:15:22.899 --> 00:15:25.480
of things that you can push yourself. But if you
343
00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:25.919
actually feel like.
344
00:15:25.940 --> 00:15:27.940
But you know your place on the line-up is confirmed.
345
00:15:27.980 --> 00:15:28.519
Yeah, kind of.
346
00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:29.419
This way you're going to have to.
347
00:15:29.419 --> 00:15:31.129
Prove yourself, aren't you? Yeah, you've got to re-prove yourself.
348
00:15:31.169 --> 00:15:34.549
You've got to re-inspire the group around you. Nothing's a given.
349
00:15:34.570 --> 00:15:36.429
And I'm not saying anything was a given at Saracens
350
00:15:36.450 --> 00:15:39.070
because that's not the case. No. But what I'm saying
351
00:15:39.129 --> 00:15:41.710
is that you've got to re-prove yourself. You can't go,
352
00:15:42.049 --> 00:15:44.919
I'm Marley Packer, this is what I expect. You've got
353
00:15:44.940 --> 00:15:46.700
to go in there and be like, right, it's a
354
00:15:46.740 --> 00:15:50.399
new environment. New, new people to connect with. You've got
355
00:15:50.419 --> 00:15:53.179
to get deeper with them because, you know, it's not
356
00:15:53.220 --> 00:15:55.039
just about the performance you put on the pitch. If
357
00:15:55.080 --> 00:15:58.379
you're close and connected off the pitch, that only makes
358
00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:00.590
you stronger on the pitch. And that's not for the
359
00:16:00.629 --> 00:16:03.679
good times. That's for when it gets tough. Yeah. Actually,
360
00:16:03.860 --> 00:16:06.059
you come together. You don't splinter apart.
361
00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:07.240
It's like a big family, isn't it?
362
00:16:07.259 --> 00:16:10.500
Yeah, massively. It is. I've got many family members, me.
363
00:16:10.659 --> 00:16:12.429
Well, see, I know from my husband, because he's a
364
00:16:12.450 --> 00:16:14.710
Royal Marine, and I think if anything goes wrong with him,
365
00:16:15.090 --> 00:16:17.129
he won't tell me. He'll go and tell them. Yeah.
366
00:16:17.269 --> 00:16:18.909
Because that's his family. Do you know what I mean?
367
00:16:18.950 --> 00:16:21.090
It's who he used to spend all of his time with.
368
00:16:21.490 --> 00:16:23.820
And I should imagine it's the same sort of scenario
369
00:16:23.860 --> 00:16:25.799
with you, that the people you train with are those
370
00:16:25.860 --> 00:16:27.720
who you know really closely and you spend a lot
371
00:16:27.740 --> 00:16:30.379
of time with. So these are the people you confide in,
372
00:16:30.419 --> 00:16:32.519
aren't they? And the people that you... you have good
373
00:16:32.580 --> 00:16:34.779
times and bad times with, you know, because they're the
374
00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:35.759
people you see all the time.
375
00:16:35.899 --> 00:16:37.419
And like him, like they're the people that put their
376
00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:38.120
body on the line.
377
00:16:38.440 --> 00:16:38.620
Yeah.
378
00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:41.620
Like whether it's, you know, you're going to take him
379
00:16:41.659 --> 00:16:43.600
to war with you or not. Like they're going to
380
00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:45.519
put their body on the line. They're going to make
381
00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:48.399
the dominant tackle that you need. They're going to be
382
00:16:48.419 --> 00:16:51.090
the ones that are there to, you know, clear you
383
00:16:51.110 --> 00:16:53.570
out of a breakdown or whatever you need. Yeah. They're
384
00:16:53.590 --> 00:16:55.409
also the ones that pick you up when you're in
385
00:16:55.450 --> 00:16:59.149
that hole. in a session or in a game or
386
00:16:59.169 --> 00:17:01.230
that you just really you know you can look across
387
00:17:01.330 --> 00:17:03.370
to some players and you just know you make eye
388
00:17:03.389 --> 00:17:06.059
contact you just know you know that smile comes out
389
00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:08.880
yeah 100% and that's probably definitely what your husband feels
390
00:17:08.920 --> 00:17:10.819
like with the Royal Marines.
391
00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:13.000
Yeah sometimes I definitely haven't got his back I'll just
392
00:17:13.619 --> 00:17:16.339
he's off fishing all the time and I'm just like
393
00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:17.759
off playing football and it's like see.
394
00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:19.579
You later laughing.
395
00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:23.279
So I am so excited then now that we're going
396
00:17:23.339 --> 00:17:25.720
to do this podcast together because we're going to talk
397
00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:28.720
about all those good things. We're going to talk about people,
398
00:17:28.940 --> 00:17:31.970
you know, people who play sports, mental health, what it's
399
00:17:31.990 --> 00:17:34.089
like being in a team, what it's like working on
400
00:17:34.109 --> 00:17:36.470
your own, that kind of thing, and resilience and how
401
00:17:36.509 --> 00:17:39.390
you get to where you're going. So I am so
402
00:17:39.549 --> 00:17:43.160
excited just for us to get down deep with this
403
00:17:43.220 --> 00:17:46.259
and actually talk to people, get guests on and have
404
00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:50.259
conversations that centre around all those things that mean a
405
00:17:50.299 --> 00:17:51.660
lot of stuff to us, you know what I mean?
406
00:17:51.740 --> 00:17:55.000
Yeah, definitely. And I'm super excited. This is very new
407
00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:57.220
to me, but I think with the guests that we've
408
00:17:57.240 --> 00:18:00.960
got coming on and, you know, just connecting back with
409
00:18:01.529 --> 00:18:04.450
my tradie life, but also bringing rugby together, it's going
410
00:18:04.470 --> 00:18:05.029
to be quite nice.
411
00:18:05.369 --> 00:18:06.369
For real. Can't wait.
412
00:18:07.009 --> 00:18:07.529
Hard hits.
413
00:18:08.069 --> 00:18:10.390
Top tips and sight-ready banter.
414
00:18:10.970 --> 00:18:14.089
Tackling the trades with Marley Packer and Steph Lees.
415
00:18:14.390 --> 00:18:16.779
Fix Radio, the builder's station.
416
00:18:17.079 --> 00:18:17.539
Right, Marley?
417
00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:20.380
Yes. Let's get to know each other on a completely
418
00:18:20.420 --> 00:18:24.069
different level. So I reckon we should ask each other
419
00:18:24.130 --> 00:18:30.049
three questions that will, you know, reveal something about ourselves, okay?
420
00:18:30.470 --> 00:18:32.509
Yeah, I want to know, and this ain't really personal
421
00:18:32.529 --> 00:18:35.390
or deep, but what got you into plastering? Because you
422
00:18:35.430 --> 00:18:37.480
did start it later on in life. It wasn't like
423
00:18:37.500 --> 00:18:39.660
you came out of school and got into plastering. I did, yeah.
424
00:18:39.880 --> 00:18:44.079
So really quickly, ex-boyfriend of mine was a plasterer. I
425
00:18:44.099 --> 00:18:47.710
was in uni doing a degree, software engineering. And I
426
00:18:47.750 --> 00:18:50.000
was working for him part-time whilst I was doing it.
427
00:18:50.089 --> 00:18:50.750
Did he pay you well?
428
00:18:52.690 --> 00:18:58.769
Usually in Fosters, cigarettes and a couple of French kisses. No,
429
00:18:58.950 --> 00:19:01.509
he didn't really pay me. Well, I think he gave
430
00:19:01.529 --> 00:19:03.869
me about 50 quid of a weekend. That was it really.
431
00:19:03.930 --> 00:19:06.990
And probably did the washing up maybe. But yeah, it
432
00:19:07.029 --> 00:19:09.049
was a case of I loved doing it with him.
433
00:19:09.089 --> 00:19:11.349
I loved going to work with him and just getting
434
00:19:11.410 --> 00:19:13.390
out and about and not being sat at a computer.
435
00:19:13.849 --> 00:19:16.690
Because for me, software engineering is like being, you know,
436
00:19:16.750 --> 00:19:18.819
who killed Kenny with the parker on and just sat
437
00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:21.799
there typing away. And I realized it wasn't for me,
438
00:19:21.940 --> 00:19:23.880
but it was good money. So I couldn't let it go.
439
00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:25.920
So what I used to do was take out all
440
00:19:25.940 --> 00:19:28.009
my frustrations by going on site and working with him.
441
00:19:28.529 --> 00:19:31.289
And then fast forward about 15 years. I was with
442
00:19:31.329 --> 00:19:33.809
him seven years, which people call the relationship I call
443
00:19:33.829 --> 00:19:38.039
an apprenticeship. And then I moved on and then I literally,
444
00:19:38.619 --> 00:19:41.609
you know, was working in this field, in the computer field.
445
00:19:41.849 --> 00:19:44.369
And I got a golden handshake from a company who said, yeah,
446
00:19:44.390 --> 00:19:46.890
we don't need you anymore, but here's some money. um
447
00:19:47.109 --> 00:19:49.109
and i set my own business up just clustering so
448
00:19:49.130 --> 00:19:52.039
i went back to college did two or three weekends
449
00:19:52.130 --> 00:19:55.259
realized nothing had changed and thought i can do this
450
00:19:55.500 --> 00:19:58.140
so i literally started working for some of my mates
451
00:19:58.259 --> 00:20:01.740
doing like little fireplaces stuff like that um and before
452
00:20:01.779 --> 00:20:04.400
you knew it 16 years later i'm still at it.
453
00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:07.180
Nice oh yeah love that nice So you got a
454
00:20:07.180 --> 00:20:10.039
free apprenticeship then, basically? Yeah, basically, yeah. Just give up
455
00:20:10.140 --> 00:20:11.519
seven years of your life for a free apprenticeship.
456
00:20:11.539 --> 00:20:13.049
And he had a Ford Capri.
457
00:20:13.289 --> 00:20:15.109
Oh, nice.
458
00:20:15.490 --> 00:20:18.910
Lovely, with the leather interior and the little clock in
459
00:20:18.930 --> 00:20:21.289
the walnut dash. I mean, I was just made, wasn't I?
460
00:20:21.410 --> 00:20:21.910
Job's a good'un.
461
00:20:22.069 --> 00:20:23.950
Right, I'm going to have to have that sandwich question
462
00:20:23.970 --> 00:20:25.329
now because I can't think of anything.
463
00:20:25.410 --> 00:20:28.269
Oh, my favourite sandwich. So I love like a crusty
464
00:20:28.309 --> 00:20:32.019
roll and then butter and then a little bit of salad.
465
00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:35.140
just lettuce and cucumber when I talk about salad. Ham,
466
00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:38.369
but it's got to be deli-thick ham. You can't get
467
00:20:38.390 --> 00:20:40.710
proper ham anymore? Maybe a bit of onion and then
468
00:20:40.750 --> 00:20:42.819
a bit of mayonnaise. And then you've got to top
469
00:20:42.839 --> 00:20:44.900
it off with a packet of salt and vinegar, Chris. Yeah.
470
00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:46.039
Do you put them inside, though?
471
00:20:46.299 --> 00:20:49.539
Yes. Yeah. Only a few, not too many. It's not
472
00:20:49.559 --> 00:20:50.400
like it's massive.
473
00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:52.940
No, you've got to finish the crisps afterwards, haven't you?
474
00:20:52.980 --> 00:20:56.180
So that's my sandwich of choice. That's one thing I
475
00:20:56.200 --> 00:20:59.980
did used to love, being on the tools, making your lunchbox. And,
476
00:21:00.420 --> 00:21:02.140
you know, 10 o'clock would come around, you have your
477
00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:04.619
little 10-minute break before lunch. Yeah. And you end up
478
00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:06.130
eating all your lunch at 10 instead of at 1. Yeah,
479
00:21:06.150 --> 00:21:07.970
and then you've got nothing for lunchtime. Yeah, and then
480
00:21:08.009 --> 00:21:10.369
you'd spend half your wage of the week on lunches.
481
00:21:10.769 --> 00:21:11.250
I'd do that.
482
00:21:11.490 --> 00:21:15.269
But as somebody who's a professional athlete, are you allowed
483
00:21:15.309 --> 00:21:16.140
to eat that food? No.
484
00:21:16.190 --> 00:21:20.250
No. You know, life is balance, is what I say.
485
00:21:20.329 --> 00:21:23.250
So like a ham sandwich, absolutely fine. You can have
486
00:21:23.269 --> 00:21:24.990
that maybe one, just not with a salt and vinegar
487
00:21:25.029 --> 00:21:30.279
crisps too often. But I have a very high protein diet,
488
00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:35.160
low fats, and carbs are good. So a lot of
489
00:21:35.180 --> 00:21:37.440
people think, oh, you shouldn't eat carbs, but is eating
490
00:21:37.460 --> 00:21:39.539
the right type of carbs at the right type of
491
00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:42.309
training day? So if you've got a high training day,
492
00:21:43.049 --> 00:21:46.369
carbs are allowed, or if you are fueling for a
493
00:21:46.430 --> 00:21:51.519
match the day before you're fueling for that game. Because actually,
494
00:21:51.740 --> 00:21:54.900
if you try and fuel on the day of the game... Studge. Yeah,
495
00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:57.259
you're not getting it in your body. You're not being...
496
00:21:57.000 --> 00:21:57.880
You're not prepared.
497
00:21:58.039 --> 00:21:58.180
No.
498
00:21:58.220 --> 00:22:01.839
Whereas, actually... if you're in a big match, your nerves
499
00:22:01.880 --> 00:22:04.000
take over, so you actually are not going to be
500
00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:05.619
hungry and that kind of stuff.
501
00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:06.990
So are you a pasta girl? Do you eat loads
502
00:22:07.009 --> 00:22:07.789
of pasta the day before?
503
00:22:08.109 --> 00:22:10.210
No, I don't eat loads of pasta. I do eat pasta,
504
00:22:10.250 --> 00:22:13.690
but it's like, I like a nice spaghetti bolognese. I
505
00:22:13.710 --> 00:22:15.420
like a bit of white bread as well.
506
00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:17.279
Oh, Toasty with butter. Yeah.
507
00:22:17.619 --> 00:22:21.740
Yeah, that's the one. So, yeah, carbs are friends, but
508
00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:23.200
you just need to make sure you eat it on
509
00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:25.119
the right day. Yeah, and you don't want them as
510
00:22:25.160 --> 00:22:27.079
best mates all the time, do you? No, no, not
511
00:22:27.160 --> 00:22:30.039
seven days a week. They're not your best mates seven
512
00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:30.599
days a week.
513
00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:32.740
Right, another question.
514
00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:34.240
What's your favourite football team?
515
00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:36.339
Oh, Liverpool.
516
00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:38.480
That's good. That's the only reason I actually signed up
517
00:22:38.500 --> 00:22:41.630
to this, because... You're a Liverpool fan. I'm a Liverpool fan.
518
00:22:41.650 --> 00:22:45.789
And you also play for them. Yeah.
519
00:22:45.809 --> 00:22:47.819
So what do you think of this season?
520
00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:52.539
I just think we messed up last season. Like, Slott
521
00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:56.319
obviously won the Premier League, but that was off of Jürgen' s. Yeah, totally.
522
00:22:56.339 --> 00:22:57.660
Do you know what I mean? Totally, totally, totally. Off
523
00:22:57.680 --> 00:22:59.809
the back of Jürgen. And then what Slott came in
524
00:22:59.849 --> 00:23:03.180
and did is gave a little bit of different, a
525
00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:05.809
different voice, a bit of different direction, and the players
526
00:23:05.890 --> 00:23:07.990
really lifted from that, because obviously Jürgen had been there
527
00:23:08.009 --> 00:23:08.750
for a long time.
528
00:23:08.910 --> 00:23:11.670
He's charismatic, isn't he?
529
00:23:11.849 --> 00:23:17.809
So actually, Slott just, in my opinion, is that he
530
00:23:17.890 --> 00:23:20.109
won that premiership off the work that Jürgen done, but
531
00:23:20.190 --> 00:23:22.509
actually he gave a different voice, which then lifted the
532
00:23:22.549 --> 00:23:26.619
players to go out and play. And then the sign-ins
533
00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:30.900
and the players that left the club last season... We
534
00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:32.700
just had a terrible season last season. And all the
535
00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:34.960
players that we signed, all injured. And then they've come
536
00:23:35.009 --> 00:23:35.880
back this season and.
537
00:23:36.349 --> 00:23:37.990
And they can't play anyway. No.
538
00:23:38.230 --> 00:23:41.849
And apparently they're not all fit enough and everything else.
539
00:23:41.890 --> 00:23:43.930
And I'm like, when you're getting paid like 300k a week,
540
00:23:43.970 --> 00:23:45.970
at least you go out and run.
541
00:23:45.990 --> 00:23:50.029
And we've had the worst transfer window ever. And we
542
00:23:50.069 --> 00:23:51.849
need to be able to pick ourselves back up and
543
00:23:51.869 --> 00:23:56.339
actually play. So tell me something... that nobody knows about.
544
00:23:56.150 --> 00:23:59.200
You oh nobody knows about me I got a tattoo
545
00:23:59.380 --> 00:24:02.480
on the back of my neck here and it means
546
00:24:02.579 --> 00:24:05.059
mum in Chinese because obviously I love my mum loads
547
00:24:05.099 --> 00:24:06.880
but yeah you know that's what I did when I
548
00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:07.339
was like.
549
00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:08.900
I think tattoos should mean something you.
550
00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:11.099
Know yeah it does mean something I've got this awful
551
00:24:11.140 --> 00:24:13.980
tattoo on my foot as well um my friend did
552
00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:17.849
it for me, and she tattooed this monstrosity on my foot. Monstrosity.
553
00:24:17.970 --> 00:24:20.349
And I went to a tattoo artist once and said,
554
00:24:20.369 --> 00:24:21.970
what can you do with this to make it look
555
00:24:21.990 --> 00:24:23.650
a little bit better? Chop your foot off. No, he
556
00:24:23.670 --> 00:24:28.180
said put a sock on it. So, yeah, no, joking.
557
00:24:28.200 --> 00:24:30.740
I love the tattoo on the back of my neck,
558
00:24:30.920 --> 00:24:33.980
but the one on my foot is... It needs some work.
559
00:24:34.089 --> 00:24:36.710
Probably needs lasering, actually. But it has meaning. It's got
560
00:24:36.730 --> 00:24:39.450
a good memory. As long as it's got a meaning.
561
00:24:39.589 --> 00:24:41.230
I've got a Liverpool tassel on my back. It only
562
00:24:41.269 --> 00:24:44.289
ever comes out when we're winning the league.
563
00:24:44.329 --> 00:24:46.109
What we talk about size-wise?
564
00:24:46.230 --> 00:24:47.309
Only on my shoulder blades.
565
00:24:47.430 --> 00:24:47.670
Oh, OK.
566
00:24:47.730 --> 00:24:49.549
What is it? Never walk alone?
567
00:24:49.630 --> 00:24:52.309
Yeah, well, it actually says underneath it, Made in Liverpool,
568
00:24:52.349 --> 00:24:54.970
and it's a live bird with the stars for.
569
00:24:54.809 --> 00:24:58.099
The Champions League and all that. So, yeah. So, if
570
00:24:58.170 --> 00:25:01.700
we won the Champions League game, would you add a star? Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
571
00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:03.720
That was actually one of the bets. When I had
572
00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:05.799
that tattoo done, the day I had that tattoo done,
573
00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:08.930
we were on for the treble. And I said, if
574
00:25:08.990 --> 00:25:11.509
we win the treble, I will run around the pub
575
00:25:11.769 --> 00:25:15.380
with my top off and show my tattoo. And we won.
576
00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:16.900
we won an extra time.
577
00:25:16.920 --> 00:25:18.589
Did you do it? Yeah. Because you don't drink either,
578
00:25:18.609 --> 00:25:20.589
do you? No, I did then. Oh, you did then.
579
00:25:20.609 --> 00:25:23.990
I was going to say, because doing that, sober, no way. No, no, no.
580
00:25:24.069 --> 00:25:27.170
I'd still do it now. Yeah, no, I was, I'd
581
00:25:27.190 --> 00:25:28.990
had a few pints. I was a few pints deep
582
00:25:29.269 --> 00:25:32.789
and I ran round the firkin in Maidenhead. So, if
583
00:25:32.809 --> 00:25:37.359
you were in Maidenhead in the early 2000s and you
584
00:25:37.400 --> 00:25:40.519
saw me running around the pub with a Liverpool tattoo
585
00:25:40.539 --> 00:25:43.160
on my back, I do apologise now and can I
586
00:25:43.180 --> 00:25:48.779
have my bra back? LAUGHTER No fluff. No faking it.
587
00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:52.980
Just proper trade talk. Tackling the trades. With Marley Packer
588
00:25:53.079 --> 00:25:54.839
and Steph Lees. Fix Radio.
589
00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:56.059
The Builder's Station.
590
00:25:56.220 --> 00:25:58.500
Thank you so much for joining us on our first
591
00:25:58.559 --> 00:26:00.329
episode of Tackling the Trades.
592
00:26:00.740 --> 00:26:02.589
We hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have.
593
00:26:02.829 --> 00:26:05.529
As always, this show is just as much yours as
594
00:26:05.569 --> 00:26:07.690
it is ours. So we want to hear from you.
595
00:26:08.029 --> 00:26:09.950
Get in touch and let us know what you'd like
596
00:26:09.990 --> 00:26:12.009
to hear us talk about, who you'd like to hear
597
00:26:12.069 --> 00:26:14.539
from or the issues you think we should be shining
598
00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:15.009
a light on.
599
00:26:15.430 --> 00:26:17.559
If you're a tradie lady with a story to tell
600
00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:19.980
and would like to join us as a guest, we'd
601
00:26:20.180 --> 00:26:22.789
absolutely love to hear from you. Drop us an email.
1
00:00:00.030 --> 00:00:02.229
This is Tackling the Trade with Marlee Packer.
2
00:00:02.490 --> 00:00:03.450
And me, Steph Lees.
3
00:00:03.810 --> 00:00:06.860
This show is created by women for women in the trade.
4
00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:10.099
We'll be tackling the real issues women face in the industry,
5
00:00:10.500 --> 00:00:14.400
share honest stories, and celebrate the highs and lows of
6
00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:18.120
everything in between. But most importantly, it's about creating a
7
00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:21.809
platform to inspire, empower, and encourage the next generation of
8
00:00:21.820 --> 00:00:24.289
women in the trade. tradie ladies to get out there
9
00:00:24.489 --> 00:00:27.879
and make their mark.
10
00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:37.679
Right, everyone, you're all used to me, but we now
11
00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:41.420
have a new podcast host called Marley Packer.
12
00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:42.299
Hello, Marley.
13
00:00:43.990 --> 00:00:47.630
Hey. Marley, I wanted you to introduce yourself now. I mean,
14
00:00:47.649 --> 00:00:51.210
you're mega famous to me, right, and everyone else in
15
00:00:51.250 --> 00:00:53.850
the world, right? But just in case there's anybody who
16
00:00:53.909 --> 00:00:56.990
hasn't heard of you, who are you?
17
00:00:57.009 --> 00:01:01.119
So my name's Marley Packer. I'm an open side flanker
18
00:01:01.159 --> 00:01:04.780
for the Red Roses and Harlequins women. I grew up
19
00:01:04.819 --> 00:01:07.980
in a town called Yeovil in Somerset, so I'm a
20
00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:13.420
West Country girl. And for me, I'm a tradie, so
21
00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:18.120
I'm a level three qualified plumber. And yeah, that's probably...
22
00:01:18.299 --> 00:01:19.480
What there is to know about me.
23
00:01:19.780 --> 00:01:24.159
So, sorry, what was your title again? A something something flanker?
24
00:01:24.659 --> 00:01:26.840
An open side flanker. Right, okay. So I hang on
25
00:01:26.859 --> 00:01:28.620
the side of the scrum and look good. There's a
26
00:01:28.700 --> 00:01:33.030
lot more technical aspect to it. So I play with
27
00:01:33.049 --> 00:01:34.340
the number seven on my back.
28
00:01:34.780 --> 00:01:36.590
Oh, best number in the world. Well, it is in
29
00:01:36.609 --> 00:01:37.390
football anyway.
30
00:01:37.489 --> 00:01:39.870
Yeah, no, it is. I'll put myself up there with
31
00:01:39.890 --> 00:01:42.709
David Beckham, Ronaldo. Yeah, nice. I like that. I haven't
32
00:01:42.750 --> 00:01:45.769
really thought about that before. But no, for me, look,
33
00:01:46.129 --> 00:01:49.069
Open side flanker, you've got to put your head where
34
00:01:49.129 --> 00:01:51.750
most people wouldn't dream of putting their head in a game. Oh,
35
00:01:51.769 --> 00:01:55.109
my word. You just play the game on the line,
36
00:01:55.170 --> 00:01:57.000
so you need to make sure you stay the right
37
00:01:57.030 --> 00:01:59.560
side of the line for the referee. But, yeah, for me,
38
00:01:59.579 --> 00:02:02.180
it's my favourite position. I started off as a hooker
39
00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:04.900
and I've slowly moved out of the scrum and onto
40
00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:05.260
the edge.
41
00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:08.379
I could say something to that, but I'm not going to. So, OK,
42
00:02:08.539 --> 00:02:11.000
so you started your life in trade.
43
00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:11.599
Yes.
44
00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:14.340
So it was plumbing, yeah? What made you want to
45
00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:14.759
be a plumber?
46
00:02:15.030 --> 00:02:17.539
Well... I started life as a trader. I actually started
47
00:02:17.580 --> 00:02:20.080
life as a labourer for some brickies.
48
00:02:20.180 --> 00:02:20.620
Oh, nice.
49
00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:26.520
So during college holidays, summer holidays, I was working as
50
00:02:26.620 --> 00:02:30.889
a labourer for a brickie company back in Yeovil. I
51
00:02:30.909 --> 00:02:33.129
got paid like a good whack a week. It was
52
00:02:33.150 --> 00:02:34.210
like 200 quid a week.
53
00:02:34.349 --> 00:02:35.689
And a few pints on a Friday night.
54
00:02:35.770 --> 00:02:38.050
Yeah, and a few pints on a Friday night for...
55
00:02:38.569 --> 00:02:40.009
for a game on a Saturday so it was absolutely
56
00:02:40.030 --> 00:02:43.259
fine but um yeah to me like 200 quid was
57
00:02:43.319 --> 00:02:45.879
loads of money back then I was I was laughing
58
00:02:45.900 --> 00:02:48.759
so I just kind of like thought right I'm not
59
00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:52.560
very academic I'm dyslexic um for me the worst thing
60
00:02:52.580 --> 00:02:55.979
would be to be sat in an office doing paperwork
61
00:02:56.020 --> 00:02:58.099
I just couldn't do that kind of job yeah from
62
00:02:58.189 --> 00:03:00.530
school I got sent to do like sports courses which
63
00:03:00.569 --> 00:03:02.849
I love playing sport but coaching when I was at
64
00:03:02.870 --> 00:03:05.379
that age I didn't want to do so From college,
65
00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:08.539
spoke to like a careers advisor and actually England Rugby
66
00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:10.020
put me in touch with this person.
67
00:03:10.139 --> 00:03:10.319
Wow.
68
00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:15.129
And because I was like playing semi-international, but it wasn't
69
00:03:15.150 --> 00:03:17.189
like a full-time role. Like you paid to play for
70
00:03:17.210 --> 00:03:19.370
your country back then. It wasn't like your country played
71
00:03:19.389 --> 00:03:21.750
for you. So you needed to make sure you had
72
00:03:21.789 --> 00:03:24.639
a career, that you had money coming in because actually
73
00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:26.250
rugby wasn't a job back then. Wow.
74
00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:29.509
Was that for women or men?
75
00:03:29.530 --> 00:03:31.669
No, just women, just women back then. Oh, that's nice,
76
00:03:31.770 --> 00:03:34.610
isn't it? Yeah, that's nice. But, like, the game is
77
00:03:34.669 --> 00:03:39.110
professional now, and, like, I've seen the transition from not
78
00:03:39.129 --> 00:03:42.909
being professional to this professional era that we're in. And, like,
79
00:03:43.150 --> 00:03:45.849
I've won two World Cups, one of them in 2014.
80
00:03:45.849 --> 00:03:49.250
We were paying to play for our country. Wow. Whereas
81
00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:52.939
now in 2025, we sold out Allianz Stadium. Yeah, watched.
82
00:03:53.139 --> 00:03:56.759
And we're proper professional, and I've seen that transition for players.
83
00:03:58.090 --> 00:04:00.830
you know just the whole program how it's grown and
84
00:04:01.030 --> 00:04:03.449
what it's like for women to be a part of
85
00:04:03.490 --> 00:04:07.050
rugby but also I've seen how in the decades that
86
00:04:07.069 --> 00:04:09.650
I've been part of sport part of rugby that how
87
00:04:09.689 --> 00:04:13.699
many more women are participating but also absolutely nailing it
88
00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:15.939
I think it's been a summer of women's sport but
89
00:04:15.979 --> 00:04:19.579
definitely going back to me as a tradie so rugby
90
00:04:19.620 --> 00:04:23.240
got me in touch with a career advisor Plumbing, I
91
00:04:23.259 --> 00:04:25.240
seen on site while I was doing the labouring.
92
00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:25.560
Yeah.
93
00:04:25.720 --> 00:04:27.199
Thought, oh, I'd like to have a go at that.
94
00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:30.019
So did that. But the hardest thing was for me
95
00:04:30.100 --> 00:04:31.100
is getting an apprenticeship.
96
00:04:31.620 --> 00:04:32.339
It still is.
97
00:04:32.420 --> 00:04:34.000
Yeah, I think it is for a lot of, well,
98
00:04:34.019 --> 00:04:37.180
for a lot of people, but especially women. So my
99
00:04:37.220 --> 00:04:41.439
mum actually, her friend, he actually did gas fireplaces with
100
00:04:41.490 --> 00:04:45.250
a little bit of plumbing alongside. Very, if I spoke,
101
00:04:45.589 --> 00:04:50.089
very niche fireplaces. So, but it was enough to get
102
00:04:50.129 --> 00:04:51.449
me onto my apprenticeship.
103
00:04:51.829 --> 00:04:51.930
Yeah.
104
00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:54.100
I was with him for a year and a half.
105
00:04:54.459 --> 00:04:59.279
Then I transferred over to a one-man band, which I
106
00:04:59.319 --> 00:05:01.720
lasted within probably a month and a half. It was
107
00:05:01.939 --> 00:05:04.060
the worst month and a half of my life. Really? Yeah.
108
00:05:04.550 --> 00:05:06.769
And then I got on with a company called D.R.
109
00:05:06.790 --> 00:05:12.310
Jones of Yeovil. It's a massive company now in the Southwest. Yeah.
110
00:05:13.350 --> 00:05:17.709
I finished my Level 3 course with them. I took
111
00:05:17.769 --> 00:05:20.949
over like a half a million pound contract doing kitchens
112
00:05:21.009 --> 00:05:21.870
and bathrooms.
113
00:05:21.889 --> 00:05:22.069
Wow.
114
00:05:22.459 --> 00:05:23.920
I got thrown a little bit in the deep end,
115
00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:26.850
but I absolutely loved it. And alongside that was doing
116
00:05:26.889 --> 00:05:27.509
my rugby.
117
00:05:27.750 --> 00:05:27.949
Yeah.
118
00:05:27.970 --> 00:05:30.430
From my first cap to my second cap, I had
119
00:05:30.449 --> 00:05:31.839
like a three-year gap.
120
00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:32.220
Yeah.
121
00:05:32.750 --> 00:05:35.470
And in that time, that's when I became qualified in staffing,
122
00:05:35.509 --> 00:05:37.009
got the job with D.R. Jones.
123
00:05:37.170 --> 00:05:38.810
Did you ever sleep at any point in that?
124
00:05:39.009 --> 00:05:41.470
Yeah, a few times if I went out on the beers,
125
00:05:41.509 --> 00:05:44.129
because when I was younger, I did used to live
126
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life to the full and definitely burn the candle both ends.
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Because that's got to be really hard, that, hasn't it?
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Holding down that job and playing rugby and trying to
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make a name for yourself via England. You know what
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I mean? That's not just like a hobby. That is
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like you've got to go full time with both of
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those things.
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Yeah. And I definitely did that. I think from my
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first cap to my second cap and like having that
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three year gap in that time, I'm like, I still
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played at England under 19s. I captained them at that level.
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But it wasn't as full on as the senior team.
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So I could do my plumbing and stuff. I remember
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to get my gas ticket. I had to fly out
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late to a Six Nations match in France. No way.
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Because I was doing my ticket on this day and
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I couldn't change it because it had been booked in
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for ages. So, yeah, and then flew out to France
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and won a Grand Slam in a Six Nations. Oh,
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my word. You are my hero. You really are my hero.
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And everybody else who's listening, I'm pretty sure about that.
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Wow. And it's women who work.
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That hard, isn't it? Yeah. It is women who work
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that hard. I mean, men give us the opportunity. You know,
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like you've just said, you've got an apprentice with a
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guy and... OK, the second one was a bit rubbish,
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but the first one, he showed you the niche fireplaces,
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et cetera. So, I mean, it's nice to celebrate people
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who put us in those positions. But as a woman,
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we have to work twice as hard to get where
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we are, I reckon.
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Yeah, definitely. And I think, you know, it's like that.
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It wasn't about me as a person or the qualifications
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or what I could bring. It was actually who you know,
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as in my mum's friend, to get me into that.
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And I think, you know, that's sometimes where it's a
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bit harder. And then you've got to show your worth.
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So for me, it was like I wanted to match
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up just as much as any other apprenticeship, whether it
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was a boy or a girl. So for me, it
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was just making sure that I kept smashing it. And
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I think I did that. I've always held my own,
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whether that's in the tools or on the pitch or
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in life.
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So when you were doing your quals, were you doing
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them on a part-time basis, like going to college release?
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Yeah, so I was... One day a week at college. Yeah.
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So I did that for three years. Wow. So you
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do like the first year, two years to get your
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level two. And then you do another year to get
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your level three. Right. And I did my unvented and
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gas ticket alongside that as well. So that was quite
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a full on year.
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Yeah, I was going to say, because that is... Is
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it what's it called now?
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Is it corgi or whatever? I don't know. Is it
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not called corgi anymore? It's gas safe now, isn't it?
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I haven't got a clue.
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Yeah, mine's throwing muck at walls. I don't have anything.
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But that's quite niche as well, because I would love
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to learn how to plaster.
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Well, you know what's going to happen now, isn't it?
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We're just going to have to have a little day
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where we have a little swap of the trades, and
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I'll throw some copper around, and you can throw some
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wood around, and we'll see what happens, most definitely. So, right,
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so you were on the tools. You were paying to
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play for England. Sorry, that is just... throw me that.
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I just didn't even know that was a thing. That
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has thrown me that.
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Yeah, well, like when I say play and paying to play,
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they would give you loss of earnings for work, but
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it'd be like 50 quid a day. And you're not
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earning 50 quid a day.
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No, you're not.
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When you're plumbing or when you're doing whatever. So obviously
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you're losing money. So that's more of where you're paying
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to play for your country. But After 2014, I was
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actually one of the real privileged and lucky players to
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be given a full-time contract in sevens. Wow. So obviously
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we're on a tradie podcast here, so if you don't
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know about rugby, there's a few different formats.
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Yeah, explain to me, because I'm a football girl, you're
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a rugby girl. This will either work or go down
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in flames.
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No, I think it's going to work. We're not too sure.
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I think we're all right.
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Yeah, we're safe, we're safe. But I think there's, in 15s,
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you've got 15 players on the pitch... It's a full
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size pitch. And then you have seven subs. Now I'm
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saying that I'm saying seven subs. Wow. So that you
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play for 80 minutes in sevens. So you have seven
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players on a full size pitch. It's seven minutes a half.
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And it was an Olympic sport. So we were. I
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was part of the first ever full-time professional contracted players
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to play for England and then eventually be a part
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of GB and then go to the Olympics in 2016. Wow,
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that is amazing. Unfortunately for me, I'm just going to
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put out there, I didn't manage to make it to
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the Olympics. um i didn't get the call up but
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i was part of that squad.
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Never to be actually in that selection group is amazing
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yeah absolutely amazing yeah.
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And honestly like you know every setback is you work
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something out for it so that was the first time
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i actually re-evaluated my life yeah when i left school
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and became a plumber Then went on this journey with
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rugby and how amazing it was when I didn't get
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selected for the Rio Olympics in 2016. It's the first
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time I evaluated life and being like, what have I
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actually got?
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Yeah.
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And that's when I decided I'm moving back to Bristol.
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I bought a house, completely renovated it, replumbed, rewired, learned
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a lot about myself. Yeah. And yeah, loved it. So. Actually,
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you know, with a downfall, you can always find something
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that brings you back up.
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I think that is part of it, isn't it? So
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what breaks you down, it ends up bringing you back stronger.
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You know what I mean?
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And it brings resilience. So you need that when you're playing.
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or when you're working on your own in the trades,
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it's hard sometimes. You know, you're working on your own.
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Your own best mate is sitting in the top of
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your head. You know what I mean?
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Having a conversation about you, saying, like, why are you
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doing this?
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Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. I'm sometimes in the van, me,
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and I'm thinking, oh, today, oh, I could have done
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without that today and all that. And before I realise,
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I'm actually talking to myself. But, you know, I actually
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get some sense out of me rather than going to
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him to my husband. So anyway, where are you at now?
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So what are you doing now?
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So I am currently still a full-time athlete with the
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Red Roses. Love what I do with them. I think
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they're such an inspiring group of players and people. The
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thing that we had a new coach come in, I reckon,
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four or five years ago now, John Mitchell, and he
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just let us be our own authentic selves. Yeah. And
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every character within the squad, if we can connect and
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know a deeper level of each other, we'd be stronger
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as a squad. And since he's come in, we've had
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a really good relationship. I was his captain for a
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couple of years. Then, obviously, we had to have the
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conversation that he's changed the captain, but actually, I think
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that made us stronger as a team. As a coach player,
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we've gone on to win back-to-back Grand Slams, WXVs, and
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then obviously the World Cup here in 2025 was just sensational.
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Yeah, I did watch that. I was like, yes, come on.
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But all the girls were all... You know, it was
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very inspirational because like you say, every single girl on
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that field had their own personality that any young girl
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watching could identify with.
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Yeah, and relate to as well. And I think that's
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the thing like with us as players, but also as people,
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we want to relate to them. We want them to
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be able to feel that they can aspire to be
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anything like seven-year-old me. would have never dreamt of literally
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being sat here in this room with you, but actually
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being able to say that I helped a team lift
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the World Cup and a home World Cup.
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Amazing.
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That I've managed to travel the world, have friends all
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over the world. Like, it's mad to even think about it.
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It's a life beyond your wildest dreams, isn't it? Yes,
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it is. And all I've ever done is go out
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there and worked really hard at the things I enjoy
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doing in like, you know, there are days when you're
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at work or you're in a dark place training and thinking,
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why the hell am I doing this? Like this is,
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like I'm in a dark place and you've got that
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voice in your head. But actually, when you get over that,
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there's so many better highs and like so much enjoyment
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out of it. And for me, I've now got a
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five-year-old son going on 15, which is crazy because he's
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got a cheek about him. But yeah, no, he's six
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in a couple of days. Oh, bless him. He's perfect.
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But like, I want to be able to prove to him,
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doesn't matter whether he's male or not, that if you
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put your mind to it and you're enjoying what you're doing,
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you can achieve anything. Not one boot fits all. It's
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like not one tool's going to fix everything, is it?
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So I could be doing everything with a spanner, but
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it's not going to help you as a plasterer. No,
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it's not.
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I'll throw it at you.
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Yeah, that's literally it.
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So, yeah, so your family life, you've just moved clubs,
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haven't you?
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So you....
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We're playing for Saracens. So I've been Saracens for nine years.
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Joined them back in 2017 after the 2017 World Cup.
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Loved my journey there with them, been great. Then a
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lot happened at the club. A lot of financial stuff
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happened at the club. They couldn't offer me a contract
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on the timelines that I needed it. I've got a
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baby on the way with my partner, Rosie. Yeah. I
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needed some stability. I can't say the word. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Stability.
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You needed stability. Yeah, I needed some of that in
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my life. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I needed to make
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sure that.
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That basically financially that we're in a good place going
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into this year. Saracens couldn't do that at the time
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for me. They had a lot of changes, a lot
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of things going on. I spoke to another club, Harlequins.
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They offered me what I was happy with. They also
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were only 20 minutes down the road from me, whereas
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Saracens is like an hour and 15. But I wanted
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to finish my last year with Saracens. I'm a loyal girl.
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I love the place and everything. But actually, I'm really
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excited for this new chapter because, you know, you can
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get comfortable in a place.
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Yeah.
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Like you can turn up. You've got like people know
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you like, you know, your body and all this kind
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of things that you can push yourself. But if you
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actually feel like.
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But you know your place on the line-up is confirmed.
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Yeah, kind of.
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This way you're going to have to.
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Prove yourself, aren't you? Yeah, you've got to re-prove yourself.
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You've got to re-inspire the group around you. Nothing's a given.
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And I'm not saying anything was a given at Saracens
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because that's not the case. No. But what I'm saying
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is that you've got to re-prove yourself. You can't go,
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I'm Marley Packer, this is what I expect. You've got
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to go in there and be like, right, it's a
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new environment. New, new people to connect with. You've got
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to get deeper with them because, you know, it's not
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just about the performance you put on the pitch. If
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you're close and connected off the pitch, that only makes
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you stronger on the pitch. And that's not for the
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good times. That's for when it gets tough. Yeah. Actually,
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you come together. You don't splinter apart.
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It's like a big family, isn't it?
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Yeah, massively. It is. I've got many family members, me.
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Well, see, I know from my husband, because he's a
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Royal Marine, and I think if anything goes wrong with him,
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he won't tell me. He'll go and tell them. Yeah.
366
00:16:17.269 --> 00:16:18.909
Because that's his family. Do you know what I mean?
367
00:16:18.950 --> 00:16:21.090
It's who he used to spend all of his time with.
368
00:16:21.490 --> 00:16:23.820
And I should imagine it's the same sort of scenario
369
00:16:23.860 --> 00:16:25.799
with you, that the people you train with are those
370
00:16:25.860 --> 00:16:27.720
who you know really closely and you spend a lot
371
00:16:27.740 --> 00:16:30.379
of time with. So these are the people you confide in,
372
00:16:30.419 --> 00:16:32.519
aren't they? And the people that you... you have good
373
00:16:32.580 --> 00:16:34.779
times and bad times with, you know, because they're the
374
00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:35.759
people you see all the time.
375
00:16:35.899 --> 00:16:37.419
And like him, like they're the people that put their
376
00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:38.120
body on the line.
377
00:16:38.440 --> 00:16:38.620
Yeah.
378
00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:41.620
Like whether it's, you know, you're going to take him
379
00:16:41.659 --> 00:16:43.600
to war with you or not. Like they're going to
380
00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:45.519
put their body on the line. They're going to make
381
00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:48.399
the dominant tackle that you need. They're going to be
382
00:16:48.419 --> 00:16:51.090
the ones that are there to, you know, clear you
383
00:16:51.110 --> 00:16:53.570
out of a breakdown or whatever you need. Yeah. They're
384
00:16:53.590 --> 00:16:55.409
also the ones that pick you up when you're in
385
00:16:55.450 --> 00:16:59.149
that hole. in a session or in a game or
386
00:16:59.169 --> 00:17:01.230
that you just really you know you can look across
387
00:17:01.330 --> 00:17:03.370
to some players and you just know you make eye
388
00:17:03.389 --> 00:17:06.059
contact you just know you know that smile comes out
389
00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:08.880
yeah 100% and that's probably definitely what your husband feels
390
00:17:08.920 --> 00:17:10.819
like with the Royal Marines.
391
00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:13.000
Yeah sometimes I definitely haven't got his back I'll just
392
00:17:13.619 --> 00:17:16.339
he's off fishing all the time and I'm just like
393
00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:17.759
off playing football and it's like see.
394
00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:19.579
You later laughing.
395
00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:23.279
So I am so excited then now that we're going
396
00:17:23.339 --> 00:17:25.720
to do this podcast together because we're going to talk
397
00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:28.720
about all those good things. We're going to talk about people,
398
00:17:28.940 --> 00:17:31.970
you know, people who play sports, mental health, what it's
399
00:17:31.990 --> 00:17:34.089
like being in a team, what it's like working on
400
00:17:34.109 --> 00:17:36.470
your own, that kind of thing, and resilience and how
401
00:17:36.509 --> 00:17:39.390
you get to where you're going. So I am so
402
00:17:39.549 --> 00:17:43.160
excited just for us to get down deep with this
403
00:17:43.220 --> 00:17:46.259
and actually talk to people, get guests on and have
404
00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:50.259
conversations that centre around all those things that mean a
405
00:17:50.299 --> 00:17:51.660
lot of stuff to us, you know what I mean?
406
00:17:51.740 --> 00:17:55.000
Yeah, definitely. And I'm super excited. This is very new
407
00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:57.220
to me, but I think with the guests that we've
408
00:17:57.240 --> 00:18:00.960
got coming on and, you know, just connecting back with
409
00:18:01.529 --> 00:18:04.450
my tradie life, but also bringing rugby together, it's going
410
00:18:04.470 --> 00:18:05.029
to be quite nice.
411
00:18:05.369 --> 00:18:06.369
For real. Can't wait.
412
00:18:07.009 --> 00:18:07.529
Hard hits.
413
00:18:08.069 --> 00:18:10.390
Top tips and sight-ready banter.
414
00:18:10.970 --> 00:18:14.089
Tackling the trades with Marley Packer and Steph Lees.
415
00:18:14.390 --> 00:18:16.779
Fix Radio, the builder's station.
416
00:18:17.079 --> 00:18:17.539
Right, Marley?
417
00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:20.380
Yes. Let's get to know each other on a completely
418
00:18:20.420 --> 00:18:24.069
different level. So I reckon we should ask each other
419
00:18:24.130 --> 00:18:30.049
three questions that will, you know, reveal something about ourselves, okay?
420
00:18:30.470 --> 00:18:32.509
Yeah, I want to know, and this ain't really personal
421
00:18:32.529 --> 00:18:35.390
or deep, but what got you into plastering? Because you
422
00:18:35.430 --> 00:18:37.480
did start it later on in life. It wasn't like
423
00:18:37.500 --> 00:18:39.660
you came out of school and got into plastering. I did, yeah.
424
00:18:39.880 --> 00:18:44.079
So really quickly, ex-boyfriend of mine was a plasterer. I
425
00:18:44.099 --> 00:18:47.710
was in uni doing a degree, software engineering. And I
426
00:18:47.750 --> 00:18:50.000
was working for him part-time whilst I was doing it.
427
00:18:50.089 --> 00:18:50.750
Did he pay you well?
428
00:18:52.690 --> 00:18:58.769
Usually in Fosters, cigarettes and a couple of French kisses. No,
429
00:18:58.950 --> 00:19:01.509
he didn't really pay me. Well, I think he gave
430
00:19:01.529 --> 00:19:03.869
me about 50 quid of a weekend. That was it really.
431
00:19:03.930 --> 00:19:06.990
And probably did the washing up maybe. But yeah, it
432
00:19:07.029 --> 00:19:09.049
was a case of I loved doing it with him.
433
00:19:09.089 --> 00:19:11.349
I loved going to work with him and just getting
434
00:19:11.410 --> 00:19:13.390
out and about and not being sat at a computer.
435
00:19:13.849 --> 00:19:16.690
Because for me, software engineering is like being, you know,
436
00:19:16.750 --> 00:19:18.819
who killed Kenny with the parker on and just sat
437
00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:21.799
there typing away. And I realized it wasn't for me,
438
00:19:21.940 --> 00:19:23.880
but it was good money. So I couldn't let it go.
439
00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:25.920
So what I used to do was take out all
440
00:19:25.940 --> 00:19:28.009
my frustrations by going on site and working with him.
441
00:19:28.529 --> 00:19:31.289
And then fast forward about 15 years. I was with
442
00:19:31.329 --> 00:19:33.809
him seven years, which people call the relationship I call
443
00:19:33.829 --> 00:19:38.039
an apprenticeship. And then I moved on and then I literally,
444
00:19:38.619 --> 00:19:41.609
you know, was working in this field, in the computer field.
445
00:19:41.849 --> 00:19:44.369
And I got a golden handshake from a company who said, yeah,
446
00:19:44.390 --> 00:19:46.890
we don't need you anymore, but here's some money. um
447
00:19:47.109 --> 00:19:49.109
and i set my own business up just clustering so
448
00:19:49.130 --> 00:19:52.039
i went back to college did two or three weekends
449
00:19:52.130 --> 00:19:55.259
realized nothing had changed and thought i can do this
450
00:19:55.500 --> 00:19:58.140
so i literally started working for some of my mates
451
00:19:58.259 --> 00:20:01.740
doing like little fireplaces stuff like that um and before
452
00:20:01.779 --> 00:20:04.400
you knew it 16 years later i'm still at it.
453
00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:07.180
Nice oh yeah love that nice So you got a
454
00:20:07.180 --> 00:20:10.039
free apprenticeship then, basically? Yeah, basically, yeah. Just give up
455
00:20:10.140 --> 00:20:11.519
seven years of your life for a free apprenticeship.
456
00:20:11.539 --> 00:20:13.049
And he had a Ford Capri.
457
00:20:13.289 --> 00:20:15.109
Oh, nice.
458
00:20:15.490 --> 00:20:18.910
Lovely, with the leather interior and the little clock in
459
00:20:18.930 --> 00:20:21.289
the walnut dash. I mean, I was just made, wasn't I?
460
00:20:21.410 --> 00:20:21.910
Job's a good'un.
461
00:20:22.069 --> 00:20:23.950
Right, I'm going to have to have that sandwich question
462
00:20:23.970 --> 00:20:25.329
now because I can't think of anything.
463
00:20:25.410 --> 00:20:28.269
Oh, my favourite sandwich. So I love like a crusty
464
00:20:28.309 --> 00:20:32.019
roll and then butter and then a little bit of salad.
465
00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:35.140
just lettuce and cucumber when I talk about salad. Ham,
466
00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:38.369
but it's got to be deli-thick ham. You can't get
467
00:20:38.390 --> 00:20:40.710
proper ham anymore? Maybe a bit of onion and then
468
00:20:40.750 --> 00:20:42.819
a bit of mayonnaise. And then you've got to top
469
00:20:42.839 --> 00:20:44.900
it off with a packet of salt and vinegar, Chris. Yeah.
470
00:20:44.920 --> 00:20:46.039
Do you put them inside, though?
471
00:20:46.299 --> 00:20:49.539
Yes. Yeah. Only a few, not too many. It's not
472
00:20:49.559 --> 00:20:50.400
like it's massive.
473
00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:52.940
No, you've got to finish the crisps afterwards, haven't you?
474
00:20:52.980 --> 00:20:56.180
So that's my sandwich of choice. That's one thing I
475
00:20:56.200 --> 00:20:59.980
did used to love, being on the tools, making your lunchbox. And,
476
00:21:00.420 --> 00:21:02.140
you know, 10 o'clock would come around, you have your
477
00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:04.619
little 10-minute break before lunch. Yeah. And you end up
478
00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:06.130
eating all your lunch at 10 instead of at 1. Yeah,
479
00:21:06.150 --> 00:21:07.970
and then you've got nothing for lunchtime. Yeah, and then
480
00:21:08.009 --> 00:21:10.369
you'd spend half your wage of the week on lunches.
481
00:21:10.769 --> 00:21:11.250
I'd do that.
482
00:21:11.490 --> 00:21:15.269
But as somebody who's a professional athlete, are you allowed
483
00:21:15.309 --> 00:21:16.140
to eat that food? No.
484
00:21:16.190 --> 00:21:20.250
No. You know, life is balance, is what I say.
485
00:21:20.329 --> 00:21:23.250
So like a ham sandwich, absolutely fine. You can have
486
00:21:23.269 --> 00:21:24.990
that maybe one, just not with a salt and vinegar
487
00:21:25.029 --> 00:21:30.279
crisps too often. But I have a very high protein diet,
488
00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:35.160
low fats, and carbs are good. So a lot of
489
00:21:35.180 --> 00:21:37.440
people think, oh, you shouldn't eat carbs, but is eating
490
00:21:37.460 --> 00:21:39.539
the right type of carbs at the right type of
491
00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:42.309
training day? So if you've got a high training day,
492
00:21:43.049 --> 00:21:46.369
carbs are allowed, or if you are fueling for a
493
00:21:46.430 --> 00:21:51.519
match the day before you're fueling for that game. Because actually,
494
00:21:51.740 --> 00:21:54.900
if you try and fuel on the day of the game... Studge. Yeah,
495
00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:57.259
you're not getting it in your body. You're not being...
496
00:21:57.000 --> 00:21:57.880
You're not prepared.
497
00:21:58.039 --> 00:21:58.180
No.
498
00:21:58.220 --> 00:22:01.839
Whereas, actually... if you're in a big match, your nerves
499
00:22:01.880 --> 00:22:04.000
take over, so you actually are not going to be
500
00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:05.619
hungry and that kind of stuff.
501
00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:06.990
So are you a pasta girl? Do you eat loads
502
00:22:07.009 --> 00:22:07.789
of pasta the day before?
503
00:22:08.109 --> 00:22:10.210
No, I don't eat loads of pasta. I do eat pasta,
504
00:22:10.250 --> 00:22:13.690
but it's like, I like a nice spaghetti bolognese. I
505
00:22:13.710 --> 00:22:15.420
like a bit of white bread as well.
506
00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:17.279
Oh, Toasty with butter. Yeah.
507
00:22:17.619 --> 00:22:21.740
Yeah, that's the one. So, yeah, carbs are friends, but
508
00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:23.200
you just need to make sure you eat it on
509
00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:25.119
the right day. Yeah, and you don't want them as
510
00:22:25.160 --> 00:22:27.079
best mates all the time, do you? No, no, not
511
00:22:27.160 --> 00:22:30.039
seven days a week. They're not your best mates seven
512
00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:30.599
days a week.
513
00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:32.740
Right, another question.
514
00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:34.240
What's your favourite football team?
515
00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:36.339
Oh, Liverpool.
516
00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:38.480
That's good. That's the only reason I actually signed up
517
00:22:38.500 --> 00:22:41.630
to this, because... You're a Liverpool fan. I'm a Liverpool fan.
518
00:22:41.650 --> 00:22:45.789
And you also play for them. Yeah.
519
00:22:45.809 --> 00:22:47.819
So what do you think of this season?
520
00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:52.539
I just think we messed up last season. Like, Slott
521
00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:56.319
obviously won the Premier League, but that was off of Jürgen' s. Yeah, totally.
522
00:22:56.339 --> 00:22:57.660
Do you know what I mean? Totally, totally, totally. Off
523
00:22:57.680 --> 00:22:59.809
the back of Jürgen. And then what Slott came in
524
00:22:59.849 --> 00:23:03.180
and did is gave a little bit of different, a
525
00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:05.809
different voice, a bit of different direction, and the players
526
00:23:05.890 --> 00:23:07.990
really lifted from that, because obviously Jürgen had been there
527
00:23:08.009 --> 00:23:08.750
for a long time.
528
00:23:08.910 --> 00:23:11.670
He's charismatic, isn't he?
529
00:23:11.849 --> 00:23:17.809
So actually, Slott just, in my opinion, is that he
530
00:23:17.890 --> 00:23:20.109
won that premiership off the work that Jürgen done, but
531
00:23:20.190 --> 00:23:22.509
actually he gave a different voice, which then lifted the
532
00:23:22.549 --> 00:23:26.619
players to go out and play. And then the sign-ins
533
00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:30.900
and the players that left the club last season... We
534
00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:32.700
just had a terrible season last season. And all the
535
00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:34.960
players that we signed, all injured. And then they've come
536
00:23:35.009 --> 00:23:35.880
back this season and.
537
00:23:36.349 --> 00:23:37.990
And they can't play anyway. No.
538
00:23:38.230 --> 00:23:41.849
And apparently they're not all fit enough and everything else.
539
00:23:41.890 --> 00:23:43.930
And I'm like, when you're getting paid like 300k a week,
540
00:23:43.970 --> 00:23:45.970
at least you go out and run.
541
00:23:45.990 --> 00:23:50.029
And we've had the worst transfer window ever. And we
542
00:23:50.069 --> 00:23:51.849
need to be able to pick ourselves back up and
543
00:23:51.869 --> 00:23:56.339
actually play. So tell me something... that nobody knows about.
544
00:23:56.150 --> 00:23:59.200
You oh nobody knows about me I got a tattoo
545
00:23:59.380 --> 00:24:02.480
on the back of my neck here and it means
546
00:24:02.579 --> 00:24:05.059
mum in Chinese because obviously I love my mum loads
547
00:24:05.099 --> 00:24:06.880
but yeah you know that's what I did when I
548
00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:07.339
was like.
549
00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:08.900
I think tattoos should mean something you.
550
00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:11.099
Know yeah it does mean something I've got this awful
551
00:24:11.140 --> 00:24:13.980
tattoo on my foot as well um my friend did
552
00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:17.849
it for me, and she tattooed this monstrosity on my foot. Monstrosity.
553
00:24:17.970 --> 00:24:20.349
And I went to a tattoo artist once and said,
554
00:24:20.369 --> 00:24:21.970
what can you do with this to make it look
555
00:24:21.990 --> 00:24:23.650
a little bit better? Chop your foot off. No, he
556
00:24:23.670 --> 00:24:28.180
said put a sock on it. So, yeah, no, joking.
557
00:24:28.200 --> 00:24:30.740
I love the tattoo on the back of my neck,
558
00:24:30.920 --> 00:24:33.980
but the one on my foot is... It needs some work.
559
00:24:34.089 --> 00:24:36.710
Probably needs lasering, actually. But it has meaning. It's got
560
00:24:36.730 --> 00:24:39.450
a good memory. As long as it's got a meaning.
561
00:24:39.589 --> 00:24:41.230
I've got a Liverpool tassel on my back. It only
562
00:24:41.269 --> 00:24:44.289
ever comes out when we're winning the league.
563
00:24:44.329 --> 00:24:46.109
What we talk about size-wise?
564
00:24:46.230 --> 00:24:47.309
Only on my shoulder blades.
565
00:24:47.430 --> 00:24:47.670
Oh, OK.
566
00:24:47.730 --> 00:24:49.549
What is it? Never walk alone?
567
00:24:49.630 --> 00:24:52.309
Yeah, well, it actually says underneath it, Made in Liverpool,
568
00:24:52.349 --> 00:24:54.970
and it's a live bird with the stars for.
569
00:24:54.809 --> 00:24:58.099
The Champions League and all that. So, yeah. So, if
570
00:24:58.170 --> 00:25:01.700
we won the Champions League game, would you add a star? Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
571
00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:03.720
That was actually one of the bets. When I had
572
00:25:03.759 --> 00:25:05.799
that tattoo done, the day I had that tattoo done,
573
00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:08.930
we were on for the treble. And I said, if
574
00:25:08.990 --> 00:25:11.509
we win the treble, I will run around the pub
575
00:25:11.769 --> 00:25:15.380
with my top off and show my tattoo. And we won.
576
00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:16.900
we won an extra time.
577
00:25:16.920 --> 00:25:18.589
Did you do it? Yeah. Because you don't drink either,
578
00:25:18.609 --> 00:25:20.589
do you? No, I did then. Oh, you did then.
579
00:25:20.609 --> 00:25:23.990
I was going to say, because doing that, sober, no way. No, no, no.
580
00:25:24.069 --> 00:25:27.170
I'd still do it now. Yeah, no, I was, I'd
581
00:25:27.190 --> 00:25:28.990
had a few pints. I was a few pints deep
582
00:25:29.269 --> 00:25:32.789
and I ran round the firkin in Maidenhead. So, if
583
00:25:32.809 --> 00:25:37.359
you were in Maidenhead in the early 2000s and you
584
00:25:37.400 --> 00:25:40.519
saw me running around the pub with a Liverpool tattoo
585
00:25:40.539 --> 00:25:43.160
on my back, I do apologise now and can I
586
00:25:43.180 --> 00:25:48.779
have my bra back? LAUGHTER No fluff. No faking it.
587
00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:52.980
Just proper trade talk. Tackling the trades. With Marley Packer
588
00:25:53.079 --> 00:25:54.839
and Steph Lees. Fix Radio.
589
00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:56.059
The Builder's Station.
590
00:25:56.220 --> 00:25:58.500
Thank you so much for joining us on our first
591
00:25:58.559 --> 00:26:00.329
episode of Tackling the Trades.
592
00:26:00.740 --> 00:26:02.589
We hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have.
593
00:26:02.829 --> 00:26:05.529
As always, this show is just as much yours as
594
00:26:05.569 --> 00:26:07.690
it is ours. So we want to hear from you.
595
00:26:08.029 --> 00:26:09.950
Get in touch and let us know what you'd like
596
00:26:09.990 --> 00:26:12.009
to hear us talk about, who you'd like to hear
597
00:26:12.069 --> 00:26:14.539
from or the issues you think we should be shining
598
00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:15.009
a light on.
599
00:26:15.430 --> 00:26:17.559
If you're a tradie lady with a story to tell
600
00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:19.980
and would like to join us as a guest, we'd
601
00:26:20.180 --> 00:26:22.789
absolutely love to hear from you. Drop us an email.
