So we’re now halfway through our trip and the third leg of the World Rugby HSBC Women’s Sevens Series in Atlanta is over and done with.

Atlanta was a good tournament for us, we beat Australia who have been the best team in the world this year, Fiji, Columbia, Russia and Canada, losing only to New Zealand in the semi-finals. Sevens is a funny game, the way it is formatted means you can lose a number of games and ultimately still win the tournament.

Like us, Australia only lost one game all tournament and went on to win the competition, whereas America also only lost one game all tournament but finished fifth to win the Plate.

Essentially, if you can make it through your group, day two is like a whole other competition. This is why sevens is such an exciting and unpredictable game to watch, which is great for supporters and certainly keeps you on your toes as a player.

We drew Russia in our quarter-final, the exact repeat of what happened this time last year in Atlanta. Thankfully the result wasn't the same. Losing in a quarter-final is probably one of the worst feelings playing sevens. You then spend the rest of the day, two more games, fighting for something that you don't really want (fifth place).

Additionally, the quality of teams now means that the Plate is often as tough as the cup competition. Luckily that wasn't something we had to contemplate at this tournament.

Nothing like playing cards while basking in the sunshine

Six games in two days are tough and trying to switch off and relax in between games is essential but tricky. This tournament Bananagrams and card games were leading the charge in the down time.

Bananagrams is a quick fire scrabble type word game which is highly addictive. It is certainly a good time filler. Depending on who you are playing it can be rather amusing as we don't necessarily boast a team full of gifted spellers.

I shall leave those players nameless to spare their blushes but safe to say a couple of the girls have realised there is in fact a difference between slang and 'proper English'.

We're now in Victoria, Vancouver Island, one of the nicest places we are fortunate enough to visit during the series (IMO). It also plays host to the fattest seals you will ever see.

Feeding some of the local residents in Victoria

We are staying right near the harbour, so taking a gentle stroll down there in some down time is a nice relaxing way to get out of the hotel and some sea air. The resident seals are always there waiting, floating on the surface due to their slightly larger than normal body mass.

Despite this, we bought some fish and fed them and as soon as a certain player (again nameless) had realised that they were seals and not indeed otters, we headed back to the hotel.

This weekend will again be a tough test for us, having only a week to recover is challenging for all teams and so it will be a mental battle of will as much as a physical battle. We played some good stuff in Atlanta and have been working hard to rectify some things that weren't so great.

Langford will be another tough test, and as I said if we can make the second day in a good position it's game on.