Melbourne-bred flanker Ash Marsters is excited to show off her incredible skills at home as the Wallaroos head into new ventures against the USA.
Friday's Test will be the first time the Wallaroos will play in Victoria, with Tests taken across the NSW, Queensland, South Africa and Western Australia across the past five years.
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The Rebels captain is the poster child of Victoria Rugby and was thrilled at the chance of playing in front of friends and family whilst acting as an honourary tour guide, showing off her slice of 'heaven.'
“It’s mental. I like it because we’re so underrated in terms of Rugby Union so to expose the sport in the state is really exciting," she told the media.
“We obviously have to compete against the AFL but maybe they’ll be able to see what Rugby is about and we’re able to put a lot of interest into the sport.
“I’m excited given I’m from ‘Burn City. I’ve been telling everyone here in camp that this is heaven. They’ve been telling me ‘Stop calling it heaven’, but I say ‘it is, just wait till you have a day off.’
“Hozier Lane always goes good with the graffiti art but I’ve said night markets (on Wednesday) will be banging so we can do that. If you want a bit of culture, you can head to the south East suburbs. You can’t go wrong in Melbourne, it’s all good."
Marsters featured in the centres for the Rebels during their most successful season, however, has found a home back in the back-row.
The 30-year-old has played every position on the field and whilst she's happy with 'whatever jumper gets me into the team', her special skills provide a point of difference in the forwards.
"It’s basically a cheat code isn’t it," she said and laughed.
“I get the chance to play in the back row as a forward and then use all the knowledge the backs have given me. I think it’s a great balance of both skill sets and I really enjoy doing both.
“Our team is pretty positive. I know the score didn’t reflect our last game but we’ve taken positives from it into Friday’s game. It is a must-win game so that is the goal for this Friday.”
