Freya Aucken press conference | Bristol Bears vs Harlequins Women

Harlequins Women's wing Freya Aucken spoke to the media ahead of Saturday's PWR Round 16 fixture against Bristol Bears.

She discussed a range of topics including:

• Reflections on playing Trailfinders
• Excitement in playing in Cardiff for the first time
• The mindset of the squad going into the fixture

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey Freya, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_02 0:02

Good thanks, how are you?

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Yeah, not too bad, thank you. Um just looking forward to the game against Bristol at the weekend. Um obviously Kira Bervin has been playing in the scrum half position as been quite a threat for them. Is she someone that you've um watched and kind of taken notes on ahead of this game? Um and is she or is there a another player that you're particularly excited to kind of match up and go against at the weekend?

SPEAKER_02 0:29

She's definitely, I'd say, one of the players that we've been looking at. We know she likes to look at the 50-22s and this has a really good boot on her, and she's very aware to when the gaps open up. So she's definitely one we've been looking at, but we've predominantly kept it so we don't have like one main focus. We just focus on them as a whole. We know what their strengths are and hopefully what their weaknesses are, so we know how to exploit it in that way. We don't necessarily want to focus on one person and get ahead of ourselves.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

And obviously, the last time out against Bristol was a big game, um, a big win against them and a big five points for the table. How much do you think uh and I guess it's the kind of similar if it's been the uh opposite side of that in previous seasons, but how much fire do you think that adds into their belly and trying to get one over, I guess, you guys at the weekend? And I guess on the flip side of that, how much does that aid your preparation and knowing that you're gonna have a full force game ahead?

SPEAKER_02 1:27

Well we know that they're gonna come out with fire in their bellies, like it's a big occasion for them. Um, they've been getting better and better through the seasons, but we know that we just need to focus on ourselves and we'll bring as much energy as we can bring. We know that we're just as pumped for it. It's really important for us to get the five points. So look, the focus might be on them, their home game in Cardiff, but we're just focused on ourselves and putting in the best performance that we can.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

And after the uh Friday night game with Trailfinders, obviously, tough to come away with the close loss from that. How do you personally reset after that and make sure your focus is on the next game ahead?

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Well, it was difficult. We knew Friday was tough, but I think not just individually, but as a whole, we really focused on what it meant and how important it was for a loss. So we just know we have to pick each other up, we have to take each game as it comes, each game is a different challenge. So look, disappointed with the result, but we're just ready to focus and fight for what we can do now.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

And just finally, obviously, you come back from an injury just the the back end of last year. How are you feeling playing just now? And is there anything you're um working on in terms of your personal development um in the the remainder of the season?

SPEAKER_02 2:55

Um I think I've just focused on coming back as strong as I can and fighting to get that starting position, which you can't just walk into, and once you've got it, you can't just keep. So just been focusing on being as strong as I possibly can, as focused as I can, and also bringing what I can do to boost the rest of the team. So I've definitely focused on game management and bringing calmness and defence off the edge. And look, it's how it's not how you perform as well, it's how you work with other players. So learning how other players inside you play and then being able to boost both yet their performance and my own.

SPEAKER_01 3:34

Nice. Thank you, Freya. Best of luck for the weekend. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Sorry, I I was still muted, I clicked up twice. Um, how are you, Freya?

SPEAKER_02 3:41

Yeah, I'm good, thank you. How are you?

SPEAKER_00 3:42

Not too bad. Um with a g with a game that's played in such a big stadium as this. I mean, have you played there before?

SPEAKER_02 3:49

Uh no, I haven't.

SPEAKER_00 3:51

Does it affect the way you play in terms of the the kind of the noise? And I don't know, it can it sometimes be a little bit overawing when you're in that kind of place?

SPEAKER_02 4:02

I think it can. Um I definitely know from experiences at previous big games at Twickenham that it's quite it hits you quite hard and you're pretty much like, Whoa, this is a lot. But I think once you get down to the warm-up, you really focus in and you can block out the rest of the noise and focus on what you need to do. We're very much focusing on our playing style, don't let where and who affect it. So, yeah, it's definitely a very exciting opportunity, but I don't think it'll affect us that much in how we perform.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

Because I I've heard other players, not just in rugby, say that it can affect just little things like communication because of the different like acoustics and maybe the crowd and stuff.

SPEAKER_02 4:44

Yeah, I mean it's definitely a lot louder, so we have to focus on being as loud as we possibly can and not just making like overall noise being very specific in what you want so the right things get heard. So it can be challenging, but it's a good experience.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

And also it feels like um Bristol Bears had a very slow start to the season, but have now started to get a few results together. Um, it feels like it's more almost like a different team to when you played them last.

SPEAKER_02 5:15

Yeah, I mean you can tell that they've been improving week on week. They've had a couple of their players come back from injury and look they'll be buzzing for it. They know what's in it for them, we know what's in it for us, but how they perform is how they perform. We just have to learn how to manage it and do our best and focus on what we can do. We can only control the controllables, and that's how we play.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

That's a that's always a good phrase, isn't it? Control the controllables. Sometimes it's har it's it's easier said than done, though, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 5:45

Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Brilliant. Okay, I think you should get that on your t shirt. Control the controllables. Anyway, thanks very much and and good luck at the weekend.

SPEAKER_02 5:52

No worries. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Cheers.