Confidence the key for Kira Rothwell ahead of Wembley Arena showdown

Kira Rothwell can’t wait to walk out for London Mavericks at Wembley Arena this weekend – but the attacker came close to missing the fixture entirely.

The 24-year-old has enjoyed a strong start to the season in light blue but missed four matches due to a shock bout of appendicitis after Round 3 that almost spelled an early end to her season.

She returned to court for Mavericks’ extra-time victory over Cardiff Dragons in Round 8 and is now raring to go for Sunday’s derby against London Pulse.

“It was such weird timing and frustrating that when they consented me for surgery, they said I’d be back playing in a week or two,” she said.

“When I came out, they wanted me to sit the rest of the season out. I thought ‘you don’t know me.’

“None of the surgeons or doctors knew about a return to play [protocol] for appendicitis. There was so much uncertainty.

“As a team but also individually, I feel like I was hitting a peak but thankfully it seems not to have gone too much.”

Trips to hospital are something Rothwell has been getting used to this season, having embarked on a graduate medical degree last September.

Combined with playing in the Netball Super League, it leaves Rothwell with little free time but she believes balancing the two has brought the best out of her on court.

“Through the whole year I have found it really good,” she said. “Having the two things helps me with the other one.

“When uni is hard at the moment, I know I can take myself off to netball and not think about it. I think it makes me play better netball, having something to take my mind off it.

“I have just been loving playing netball. I am confident in myself, it has been really good.”

The 24-year-old does not need to look too far for inspiration from other netballers who also enjoy impressive careers as doctors.

“I have spoken to Layla [Guscoth] a lot,” she added. “I have always looked up to her so much.

“It’s a bit embarrassing now, but I remember sending her an email back in the day asking about how she balances playing for England and being a doctor.

“I will definitely speak to some of the others like Niamh [Cooper] and Amy [Carter] as I get into the more clinical years, I just think they are all so cool being able to do that.”

On the court, Rothwell has certainly taken plenty of confidence from her own performances.

The attacker has made a regular impact on matches and shown particular prowess with the Soft & Gentle Super Shot, including a last-second winner against NIC Leeds Rhinos.

“That’s possibly the best moment of my career,” she reflected. “It was so cool.

“In that moment, I didn’t even think twice about taking the shot. I was like ‘I haven’t missed a shot yet this season in the two-point range, why would I not take it?’

“Looking back, I think why did I not take the one to equalise? It definitely gave me a lot of confidence, especially in the two-point range.”

Rothwell will hope she can take that confidence onto Mavericks’ biggest stage so far this season when they take to Wembley Arena on Sunday.

Camilla Buchanan’s side lost comfortably in the reverse fixture, but Rothwell believes her side have made strides forward since then and are ready to take the game to the league leaders.

Whatever happens, Rothwell believes playing at Wembley is a glimpse of the future for the Netball Super League.

“Pulse have been together as a group longer than we have and came into the season at a higher point than us, but we are very much on an upwards trajectory,” she said. “It should make for a very good game.

“We will prepare like we do any match, but it is exciting to play there. You want to enjoy the moment, it is such a cool thing but when you are out on court, you don’t really hear the crowd.

“It is a hard balance. I try and take in the moment when I walk out for the warm-up.

“The fact that netball is played at arenas like Wembley now is really cool. We are at a really good point this season for a big headline match and we can’t wait.”

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