Center Emily Scarratt wants to “get back in an England shirt” but won't take her return after 13 months out with a neck injury for granted.
The 34-year-old has 108 caps for the Red Roses. neck surgery Last year, she tried to extend her career.
On Friday, Scarratt returned to action for the first time in Loughborough Lightning's 33-17 loss to Bristol.
“It would mean a lot, but I'm not trying to think about it too much,” Scarratt told BBC Sport.
“I don't take anything for granted. I haven't played in a long time and I don't have as much game time or practice time as a lot of girls.
“Also, many of them have played consistently well over the past year or so. “I'd love to be back in an England shirt, but I'm not taking anything for granted.”
The 2014 World Cup winner played 47 minutes in the Premiership Women's Rugby match at Ashton Gate and showed class in attack and defence.
After being injured in January 2023, the former World Player of the Year missed the inaugural WXV1 tournament and the 2023 Six Nations, which saw the Red Roses win their second straight Grand Slam.
England begin their Six Nations defense on March 24 against Italy, the date specified by Scarratt.
“I hope that I am healthy enough to be eligible to take part in the Six Nations campaign again,” she said.
“I love playing for my country and have done so for many years. I would be lying if I said I didn't want to get back in that uniform.”
“It was the right thing to do in my life.”
Ms Scarratt required disc replacement surgery, which meant removing a bulging disc in her neck and replacing it with an artificial disc.
Post-surgery rehabilitation includes “a variety of weighted exercises” including the use of head harnesses and bands, “very similar” to how F1 drivers strengthen their necks.
“He had a bulging disc in his neck and was damaging his umbilical cord, so it was obviously quite dangerous,” Scarratt added.
“It was originally stable, but it did not regress or recover on its own.
“Even if I didn't get back to rugby, it was the right thing to do for my life than anything that would bother you.
“In a way it kind of puts it into perspective when you’re going to have this for the rest of your life and that’s what the surgery was really about, but it gave me the opportunity to come back and play rugby.”
2025 World Cup is a “big goal”
The Red Roses' new head coach, John Mitchell, joined the team last fall after completing a stint as an assistant coach with the Japanese men's team.
Despite an illustrious international career that included eight Six Nations titles, Scarratt is yet to play for Mitchell, but he has received support from potential new coaches ahead of his first game back.
“He checked in with me throughout this whole process, and it was really nice to see how I was doing,” she said.
“He called me before the first game and said let's hang out, which was really nice. I'm really looking forward to building that relationship.”
The former All Blacks head coach has been brought in to help the Red Roses win their home World Cup in 2025. lose by a narrow margin Moving to New Zealand in 2022.
Scarratt, who played at the last World Cup in England in 2010 when they lost to the Black Ferns, said it was a “huge goal” to potentially end his career on a record high.
“In 2025 we will see where we are,” she added. “If it’s not 2025, [retirement] If you don't think about it, it won't take long. ”
