Emily Scarratt exclusive: "Farming is really tough... and great preparation for rugby"
England rugby’s top points scorer and ex-GB Sevens star tells Olympics.com about the sport's major opportunity in the U.S. ahead of LA 2028, the Ilona Maher effect, and why women's rugby is booming.
Rugby Sevens
Playing rugby at an elite level is demanding both mentally and physically, but for Emily Scarratt it was arguably the easy option.
Growing up on a farm in Leicester, the future England 15s and sevens star rarely saw her father take a day off, while he constantly had to react to an uncontrollable environment.
“Farming is a really, really tough way of life, you are literally in the hands of Mother Nature,” Scarratt told Olympics.com. “The weather can make it a good year or a complete flop. It’s largely out of your control and you've just got to roll with it.
“There’s also a lot of manual labour and my dad and brother can work 18-hour days throughout the summer just to get the harvest in. They laugh when I tell them that I get recovery days!"
That said, rugby also has its tribulations.
In February, Scarratt returned to action after a 13-month lay-off due to a neck injury that required surgery, but her farming background helped her keep everything in perspective.
"In a way, farming was a great preparation for rugby because sometimes things are out of your control like injuries. That’s given me a slightly more relaxed nature just to go with things, figure out what the next step is, attack it, and repeat the process.
“So no matter what happens in rugby, I remember to enjoy it as some people are going through a hell of a lot worse stuff.”
It’s a process that has helped Scarrett achieve unparalleled success in sport.
She helped England to Rugby World Cup glory in 2014, was named World Rugby's Women's Player of the Year in 2019, and became the highest-ever points scorer for the England team in 2020.
In September 2024, the 34-year-old won her 100th international cap for the Red Roses, although she humbly admits she ‘had no idea’ about the milestone until a post on social media made her aware.
It has been an astonishing career to date, considering what the sport looked like when the Loughborough Lightning centre - who turned professional in 2019 - first played at a Rugby World Cup in 2010 as a 20-year-old university student, where England finished as the runners-up.
“We basically met up for like weekends throughout the year to train. But I don't think anybody in that squad had ever experienced anything like the final,” she continued.
“When our bus arrived at the stadium and the doors opened all you could hear was this crazy noise. It was all home support. I remember thinking this was pretty serious now and for me was a massive turning point in women’s rugby with crowds and the publicity increasing. It really changed the game.”
In between this astounding success in 15s, Scarrett also competed in rugby sevens and captained Team GB when the sport made its Olympic debut at Rio 2016.
It was the first time she had answered journalist questions from a microphone-ladled table at the head of a packed press conference room. It was another sign of the changing times in the sport.
Despite having retired from the shorter sevens format of the sport, the 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist was an eager onlooker at the Paris 2024 Olympics where the sport reached a record audience, including over 500,000 spectators in the stadium and millions more following on TV.
“Obviously there was the huge Antoine Dupont factor, but Paris did a brilliant job of showcasing how much fun sevens is to watch, she said.
“It is an unbelievable game and it really should be the showcase of our sport in terms of the entertainment factor and how easy it is to watch. Sevens weekends are the best entertainment.”
Emily Scarratt passes the ball during Great Britain's women's Semi Final against New Zealand at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Deodoro Stadium on August 8, 2016.
Emily Scarratt on the Ilona Maher effect
Another significant factor behind the rise in popularity of sevens is USA’s Ilona Maher.
She became a social media star at the Tokyo 2020 Games in 2021 with her humorous and behind-the-scenes videos.
Her following received another huge boom at Paris 2024, where her messages of female empowerment, and the same hilarious clips of life in the French capital, went viral again.
“I don't even know how you would put into words what she's doing,” Scarrett, who has lined up against Maher in both codes of the sport, said.
“As a player she's tough, and her strength is her strength. She's super powerful in any form of contact and doesn't want to take a backward step.
“But she’s also a really good personality and understands her role within the game. She openly admits that she's never been the best rugby player, although she's a very good one, she is having a positive impact on the sport and we need those people to shine that light and bring new audiences to the game.
“She's doing Dancing with the Stars at the moment and showcasing rugby in a really good light. Hopefully, she gets back into the game and brings that whole audience back with her."
Rugby's U.S. opportunity at LA 2028 Olympics
Maher, rugby, and the USA have a huge opportunity over the coming years.
The 2024-2025 rugby sevens season will culminate at the SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles' Dignity Health Sports Park, which will also host the sport at the LA 2028 Olympic Games.
After Maher and her teammates landed a historic bronze medal at Paris 2024, U.S. businesswoman Michele Kang pledged four million dollars to the national women’s sevens programme, giving them a huge financial boost in their goal of landing gold on home soil.
Scarrett was once offered a scholarship to play basketball for Manhatten College after touring the East Coast with her English club team, aged 15.
Despite turning down the opportunity to focus on rugby, she retains a huge interest in U.S. sports and knows what a larger interest in rugby across the Atlantic could do for her sport.
“LA is a massive opportunity when you think of the captive audience that is America, in terms of how they love to watch their sport,” she said.
“Obviously it's challenging when you're trying to break in, essentially with a new sport, but when you look at all the other sports that they enjoy watching, they're physical, they're tough, they're competitive, there’s a high skill level, big stadiums, bright lights, and sevens fits into that.
“There is also that appetite to watch women's sport and get behind female athletes and teams.”
The women’s sevens Rugby World Cup 2025 in England has received record ticket sales and Scarrett knows how big an impact Maher could have on the event both on and off the pitch if she plays.
“I guess you selfishly look ahead to 2025 and you imagine a global social superstar playing in what is already going to be a massive tournament anyway, it would be amazing.”
Dubai Sevens blockbuster to kick off 2024/25
Scarratt, on top of her duties with the national 15s team, also works in the media and will have a key eye on the upcoming sevens season.
As with previous seasons, the SVNS 2025 series will begin with a blockbuster event in Dubai, from 30 November to December 2024.
Scarratt has fond memories of the series opener and believes that this year could be one of its best yet.
“It's going to be so good. I was so jealous when the GB girls flew over for it. There's always such a buzz about the place with so many people being there with the sun shining, and the party atmosphere," she said.
“The music's on point and I think that Stormzy's headlining, so there’s such a good time to be had out there.
“Post-Olympics, there are going to be new viewers and some good fireworks on the field as well.”