Kelsie Bouttle ready for ride of her life at World Cup despite Hong Kong again falling to Japan
Young centre hopeful of a seat on the plane to Ireland after solid showing in her side’s 60-19 loss in Asia rugby championship
Hong Kong may have gone down to Japan 60-19 on Saturday night in their final Women’s Rugby World Cup warm-up match, but young centre Kelsie Bouttle was still visibly excited by the prospect of a trip to Ireland.
Hong Kong coach Jo Hull will name her 28-strong squad on July 22 and 18-year-old Bouttle is expecting a long week before finding out if she will get to ply her trade on the world stage.
“I’m nervous but it will be good,” she said. “[Playing international rugby is] new for me, so it’s quite intense but it’s a great experience.
“It’s good for me to go to Ireland because I will get that experience, but I’m still young so I have a long way to go.”
Having come through the national age grade programme, Bouttle feels she “adds a bit of a different dynamic” to Hong Kong’s backline owing to her size, with Hull praising her impact on Saturday night.
