Katy McLean delighted with Sportswomen Team of the Year Award for England
Thursday 20 November 2014 13:14, UK
Women’s Rugby World Cup-winning skipper Katy McLean has heaped praise on the entire England set-up after the side were named Sunday Times and Sky Sports Sportswomen Team of the Year.
The rugby side beat off competition from the 4x100m relay team, rowers Helen Glover and Heather Stanning, and the England cricket team to scoop the accolade on Wednesday night.
McLean was joined by Sarah Hunter, Emily Scarratt and Maggie Alphonsi to accept the award on behalf of the team and was delighted they were voted winners by members of the public.
“We came here in such a strong category of teams that have been so successful this year and to win it, especially in a public vote, it’s phenomenal,” McLean told Sky Sports News HQ. “To think that amount of people have voted for us to ensure we take this award home means a lot.
“There are four of us that have been able to come here and represent the squad but it has been a team effort. We’re very, very lucky in terms of the players, the staff and the management that were involved in the squad out in Paris. This is all a testament to their hard work.”
The England skipper admits nobody could have predicted the impact that winning the World Cup has had on women’s rugby in this country.
“Even in our wildest dreams we could not have expected or predicted the impact,” she said. “We were on the front pages of national newspapers and been nominated for awards and to win an award like the Sunday Times and Sky Team of the Year is absolutely phenomenal.
“It’s great for the sport. Coverage and awards like this allow us to continue to put women’s rugby out there and that makes it better for young girls, children and women out there to get involved in rugby. Ultimately that’s the aim, the more you grow the game, the better the place England rugby will find itself in.”
England finished runners-up to France in the RBS Women’s Six Nations earlier in the year and the World Cup triumph was their first for 20 years after three successive final defeats to New Zealand.
England No 8 Hunter is delighted the squad have been recognised for their perseverance at the end of a memorable year for the entire squad.
“Just to be nominated in the Team of the Year category and to be recognised for what we have achieved is fantastic,” she said. “To actually go on and win it against such tough competition is a great reward for all our hard work.
“The year didn’t start off as we expected in the Six Nations, but for us it was all about peaking at the right time and ultimately winning the World Cup.
"It hasn’t just been a year of work. For some people it has been 10 or 15 years of work since they first picked up a rugby ball.”
