England record try scorer Amy Hardcastle was quick to praise all those around her as she reached an impressive milestone of 21 tries in 21 international appearances on Saturday.
Hardcastle bagged a try in each half of the 36-10 win over France to extend her lead as the nation’s all-time top scorer in the women’s game.
And with the World Cup just around the corner, there will be plenty more opportunities for Hardcastle to add to her total and set a record that could take some time to be broken.
“It’s always amazing to score for England,” said the 33-year-old.
“Yes, it’s a personal thing to finish the tries, but you can never get them without the team around you. It’s about working together to get them and we did that well today and it paid off.
“It is nice to be up there and adding to the total, but at the moment I am just grateful to be doing what I am and having the opportunity to keep doing.
“I’m not sure how many more caps I’ll get in my career, but I will keep fighting for them for as long as I can.”
Her international coach Craig Richards also paid special tribute to his bulldozing centre, stating she is just as influential off the pitch as she is on it.
“People just see what Amy does on the field, but I see what she brings off the field on a personal level,” said Richards.
“We have got a lot of young girls in this group who will be fantastic internationals for years to come, and there is a lot Amy does with them that is unseen.
“She is a tremendous person and I am lucky to coach her and be her mate. Forget Rugby League, I just love Amy Hardcastle the person and her Rugby League ability is just the icing on the cake.”
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