Nelson powers into Black Ferns

HEAVY WORK: Kaihu Valley's Aleisha Nelson is in her final preparations for next month's Women's Rugby World Cup in France .PHOTO/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM

KAIHU Valley's Aleisha Nelson has been doing some unique scrum training this week as she prepares for the Women's Rugby World Cup next month, helping remove a fallen tree from the road.

Call it cross-training if you like, but for the down-to-earth Nelson it was just something she had to do in order to get home during this week's weather bomb - even though flooding prevented her from making it all the way home.

It's certainly not ideal preparations for a Rugby World Cup in France, but it is hard to dent the 24-year-old Black Fern's smile after being named as one of just four props in the team.

For Nelson, making the team was no easy task as she came with little experience - but that changed during last month's Steinlager Series in the Bay of Plenty.

"The time I got on the field was huge compared to when I was in England," she said while perched on a bench in the Northland Rugby Union's gym. "It was an eye opener for international rugby.

"It was a bit of a wake up to what you've got to do to improve and what I need to do to get to that next step."

While rain leaks through the roof in the corner of the gym, Nelson explains what exactly that next step is as she walks into what will be the biggest task of her rugby-playing career to date.

"I just need to put out there I've been training hard and show the coaches I can do it. I got good feedback from coaches after the Steinlager Series, there are always work-ons, but overall pretty positive.

"The whole team realises we need to be fitter, faster and stronger, but the main goal for me is getting off the ground fast and working hard around the rucks."

Adding to the on-field work-ons for Nelson, who is a nurse in Dargaville outside of rugby, is the need to deal with the World Cup pressure that surrounds New Zealand teams.

She believes there is even more pressure on the Black Ferns to win the World Cup than their male counterparts.

"Because we've won it so many times consecutively [fans and the NZRU] kind of think 'oh yeah they'll win', but it's not that easy.

"There are so many other teams, some are professional now, and their improvement is just massive. Now we're coming up against these teams and they've got so much talent, but talent isn't going to get us there, we have to work really hard for us going to win.

"We can't just go over there and say we're going to win."

Nelson and her teammates are ready for it though, having already had team sessions on how to reach 'heaven' - as they call it, winning and playing well individually and as a team - and what happens if they end up in 'hell'.

However, she quickly chimes in: "Let's hope it doesn't get there."

There's no doubting the Northland farm girl's attitude to training, often travelling countless hours to Auckland and training with the Western Sharks premier rugby team.

Nelson said this year she has had an impressive amount of support, adding she appreciates the time and energy people have put into her.

A highlight for Nelson in recent weeks has been training in the Northland Rugby Union gym and placing her personal best times up against Taniwha ITM Cup players.

Nelson takes great pleasure in comparing herself to them, adding it's funny when she betters their times as they probably don't like being beaten by a girl.

There is not long for Nelson to wait, though, before she can put herself to the test against the best players in women's rugby around the world.

The Black Ferns head into camp on July 25 before building into the tournament which starts on August 1. New Zealand is in pool B with USA, Kazakhstan and Ireland.