Lacey Owen on EWPS selection

She joins six Tigers players in the EWPS, whilst three other Tigresses were named in the first-ever England Women Knights Performance Squad (EWKPS), you can read the full squad HERE.

The news comes as a positive for the women’s game which has yet to begin the 2020 season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

However, for Lacey, her EWPS selection is recognition for the hard work she has put in as a player for the Club and offers the chance to continue her growth as a player at an international level. Owen, proudly sponsored by Melanie Allatt Photography, received the news when England Women Head Coach Craig Richards called her.

“I’m really excited about it and is a new opportunity for me so new things to come hopefully and I can smash it with the rest of the girls,” said Owen.

“Craig rang myself, the England Head Coach, saying he was delighted to say that I would be in the squad with all the girls and I was nearly crying!”

Lacey’s selection is doubly sweet after suffering an injury last season that she came back from to feature strongly in the Tigers Women’s memorable 2019 campaign, clearly getting noticed by Richards for selection.

“I broke my foot last year which I was pretty gutted about because my goal was to work to the England squad originally, but I was mainly focusing on Castleford. As we played Leeds in the first half of the game, I broke my foot and had a lot of ligament damage, it just wasn’t my year I suppose.”

The wait goes on for the start of the 2020 Women’s Super League season, but the Rugby Football League did provide an update on the planning for a shorter season dependent on the public health situation and Government advice. You can read that update in full HERE.

Effectively this has meant that the Tigresses have been in a prolonged pre-season period trying to keep match ready for whenever the season begins. Owen has taken this in her stride and says she is in better condition than ever!

“It’s a different brief completely! We’re used to going into the gym and smashing our session and going home, doing a run maybe every now and then. But now, I’ve been literally non-stop running and I think I’m fitter than I was when we were meant to start the season.

Owen added, “I’ve got the time now and during this time I’ve got to exercise more than I ever have before, as soon as I get up in a morning I’ll eat my breakfast and go run. I have eaten so much just because I’ve exercised so much! I think my fuel is on empty every time I stop exercising, so it’s good but it’s been a completely different ball game.”