By Milly McEvoy, Sportsbeat
Opportunity is the word to define Mackenzie Carson’s rugby career and her next opportunity will see her run out in Vancouver, the city of her birth, as an England player on Sunday.
The 26-year-old has been named in the front row as the Red Roses begin the defence of their WXV1 title against the USA at BC Place, where Carson once played sevens.
The Gloucester-Hartpury prop played three times for Canada before making her England debut in 2023 after several injuries opened up a space in the front row and Carson has not looked back since.
“It is quite cool, BC Place is a well-known stadium in the world of sport and in recent years they have started hosting HSBC SVNS series there,” Carson explained.
“And I used to play in the breaks between the sevens games, so it is weird to come full circle and not necessarily play sevens but get to play there on the international rugby scene.
“It will be really cool to get to run out, play some rugby there and play in front of my family.
“My family have all got England kit now and they’ll definitely be cheering for England, maybe they’ll have a Canadian shirt underneath, but I’ll turn a blind eye to that.”
A revolution in women's rugby ⚡️ ️
— WXV (@WXVRugby) September 27, 2024
This is WXV 💜 #WXV | #RWC2025 pic.twitter.com/CK39lUOmOZ
Carson qualifies for England through her mother and the loosehead will take to the hallowed Vancouver turf as international women’s 15s rugby is played at BC Place for the first time with the match kicking off at 20:30 BST on Sunday.
After playing world champions New Zealand next week, Carson will then face her former team Canada.
She will do so in the city where she grew up, but the Gloucester-Hartpury player explained how it is not fully her home anymore.
Carson added: “I definitely think when I am here it is home for me and that is because I attach it with family, and all my family are here.
“But equally I almost feel like I have two homes now because my life is in England.
“But this will always be a place that is special to me and where I get to experience things that I got to experience as a kid growing up.
“Initially, when I left Canada, I just wanted to go play rugby and explore the world and it has led me to some really great opportunities with playing for England and having rugby as my full-time job.
🚨 IT'S TIME 🚨
— WXV (@WXVRugby) September 27, 2024
This year's WXV kicks off today 🙌#WXV | #RSAvJPN pic.twitter.com/cloJGuK8h9
“It has been a crazy, rollercoaster of a time but I wouldn’t change anything about it.”
Carson originally arrived in the UK to play for Bristol Bears, moving to Saracens before earning her first England call-up after sitting out of international rugby for four years.
Her journey on the rugby pitch has almost been as well-travelled as the one off it, and serves as a reminder of taking chances when they come.
“When I first went to university in Canada, I had a full scholarship to play 10 which I think was probably not because I was good at it,” Carson admitted. “They just desperately needed someone who could pass.
“So I played 10 and 12 when I was growing up and then played hooker for the majority of my career, all my caps for Canada were at hooker and then moved across to loosehead so it is a bit of everything.
“People get their opportunities in a lot of different ways, for me with England, I thought I am probably getting this opportunity because quite a few people have been injured.
“But at the end of the day I saw it as an opportunity is an opportunity.
“For me it was just about making every cap that I play in my own and taking it with both hands and living in the moment.
“I didn’t anticipate it to go as quickly as it did but I am really grateful for the opportunity to stick around and keep doing it."
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