Maddie Feaunati: Forward’s rapid rise from call centre to England

Having played in Super Rugby Aupiki for the Hurricanes Poua and Wellington Pride Feaunati made the move to England a year ago.

She has proven to be a superb find by Chiefs head coach Susie Appleby – not only English qualified but also international class.

“We were desperate to get EQP (English Qualified Player) numbers of quality players in here,” Appleby tells BBC Sport.

“I probably brought in about four players from around the world that I found last season and she was the golden nugget.

“At first sight she was incredibly talented, but really raw.

“New Zealand don’t play in systems, New Zealand just play rugby. She had no idea about the why’s, the how’s, the where’s.

“That was the exciting bit, that you can learn that, but you can’t teach raw talent.”

Appleby is under no illusions of how good Feaunati could become – especially with a World Cup on the horizon:

“The world’s her oyster. She’s got a massive future ahead of her, but she’s a young player still,” Appleby added.

“She’s learning her trade, she could be one of the best players in the world, but she’s not yet.”

Feaunati says her ambition for some time had been to make the move to Premiership Women’s Rugby, while deep down knowing she had what it took to have a chance of playing on the international stage.

“I was seeing how far I could get in New Zealand and i was probably there or thereabouts,” she said.

“I could have given it a couple more years, but to me growing up and watching the Red Roses and being part of the RFU is something that I really missed.

“I wanted to follow in my Dad’s footsteps a bit in coming over here and doing the club thing, but I always knew that I could play for England, so I strived for that as well.”