Lazard and McGovern hope England Women's Senior squad can now flourish

The middle and setter played for their country in the Novotel Cup in Luxembourg in early January, while a slightly more inexperienced team competed in the Five Nations Championships in Kettering over the same weekend. 

Those matches were the first England’s women had played on the international stage for two years – since the Novotel Cup in January 2023 – with Maria Bertelli leading the side in the UK and Audrey Cooper heading up the team overseas. 

Both Grace (Iowa State University) and Georgia (Claremont Mudd Scripps) have played for universities in America, and as overseas professionals, and are currently with Malory Eagles in the MAAREE Women’s Super League. 

They have both relished having the opportunity to pull on a national jersey again and hope that with a young crop of players coming through, the team will continue to develop over the next few years. 

“It was a while ago that I last competed for England before this Novotel Cup, so it was a big boost to play again in January, especially now I have finished my professional career,” said Grace. 

“Everyone who was brought into the two squads had the same goal of wanting to represent their country and do it well, which had a positive impact out on court. 

“It’s important for young players coming through to have something to strive towards, especially if they are not going to go to play overseas, because competing on the international stage is important to them.” 

Georgia added: “The thing that stands out about playing internationally is the sense of pride that you get when you do it. 

“In the England squad now there were players who I knew quite well but also a lot of new faces, which bodes well for the future. 

“If you look at where the club and junior competitions were four years ago to now, we are seeing many more teams entering and being competitive. 

“It used to be pretty straightforward getting into the Last 8 of a junior competition, for example, but now it is a lot more competitive, which feeds into the pool of players who are available to play for England.” 

Both Grace and Georgia believe it is important for young players coming through to have international players to look up to. 

They can recall in their younger days having people who acted as role models for them as they made their way in the game. 

“I played in my first Novotel for England in 2020 and Meg Viggars was someone who I really learned from, especially as she is a setter like me as well,” said Georgia. 

“She showed me and others that female England players can go abroad and be successful, so it’s super-important to be able to see it if you want people to be it. 

“To see the next steps you can take, and to see that volleyball can take you all over the world can be very inspiring.” 

Grace added: “For me, I saw in the lead-up to the London 2012 Olympics a lot of the GB players who had funding issues but came together off as well as on the court to make it happen. 

“People who I really studied and followed and paid attention to were Savanah Leaf and Ciara Michel... they were really at the forefront. 

“We want to have that now too, where younger players can learn from the more experienced players.” 

Grace and Georgia were really pleased with the togetherness and unity the England team who played in the Novotel Cup tournament demonstrated. 

They hope that can be replicated in the future when that squad and the one that played at Five Nations become one – and that there will be more opportunities to play on home soil. 

“It felt different this time from playing for England previously... it felt more connected,” said Georgia. “We had a much better chemistry than in the past. 

“I think that was probably down to individual characters we had on the team and the fact that everyone bought into what we were trying to achieve. 

“From what I have heard, it was a really fun competition to play in the Five Nations too and playing at home is always super-exciting. 

“I would love for us to play more matches and have more scrimmages at home. It would be really good to be able to showcase our talents to more people here, so hopefully a Five Nations tournament every year could help with that. 

Grace said: “If we can come together regularly, then I think there are other players out there who we could add into the squad. 

“Moving forward we want to see what players are keen to put themselves forward and commit to what we are trying to establish. 

“It’s a give and take relationship. Some players are starting out and others, like me, are at the other end of the spectrum, but we all want to see a return for the efforts we put into it. 

“A lot of us have to manage other aspects of our lives away from their volleyball, with education, jobs and other things, and we are trying to get the balance right. 

“Of course, there needs to be a certain level of commitment from players, but it also needs to be recognised that there might be times when people can’t make a session and we have a squad that is flexible to cope with that.” 

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