How Ellie fell back in love with the game

HAVING turned away from the sport as a teenager, Sevens flyer Ellie Boatman is now revelling in the newly formed Great Britain team. England, Scotland and Wales combined to form Team GB ahead of this season in a move to try to make the team stronger for the Paris Olympic Games next year.

- BEN JAYCOCK

GB are joint sixth with Fiji in the women’s standings with 68 points and 26-year-old Boatman says the main goal for this year is to secure qualification for the Olympics.

She said: “It’s been an up-and-down season but it’s definitely progressing in the right direction.

“The change has brought a different dynamic but it means we’re able to access the best players from different countries, so players like Jaz Joyce, Rhona Lloyd, Lisa Thomson and others mean we have a better pool to choose from and has created another level of competition. You’re never secure in your position which is a really good atmosphere to have.

“To have Great Britain full-time with the Olympics in mind is definitely the better way to go. Rather than having the change back from England to Great Britain each time and bringing girls from Scotland and Wales etc. who haven’t been playing Sevens full time, it’s better to gel together as a team beforehand as we’ll have been a team for a year before the Olympics.”