Leicester Tigers
PAEDIATRIC NURSE TESS FEURY SCALING NEW HEIGHTS WITH USA
Leicester Tigers full-back Tess Feury lives by one piece of advice – ‘if you love rugby that much, it doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else', writes Abi Curran.
The New Jersey-born 27-year-old knows all about sacrifice when it comes to pursuing the sport she always loved alongside her full-time career as a paediatric nurse.
Some of her fondest memories growing up were on the rugby field being coached by her father and, following dream appearances at the 2017 and 2021 Rugby World Cup, Feury has been now scaling new heights with the USA in the innovative new WXV 2 competition in Cape Town.
“It's definitely a lot of sacrifice,” she said, speaking ahead of their final game against Italy on Saturday. “But that advice has really stuck with me on the crazy days when I'm working a 12 to 15-hour shift and then going to training.
“Working through Covid was obviously very difficult but rugby was always my escape from nursing when nursing got hard.
“There was no rugby during Covid so that made it a darker, challenging time.
“But having the opportunity to look forward to the 2022 World Cup and staying focused on my training when I wasn't working really helped me get through it.”
Feury completed her bachelor’s degree at Pennsylvania State University while playing college rugby, earning her first international cap in 2016.
She followed in the footsteps of her nurse practitioner mother and completed her master’s earlier in the year after balancing high-level rugby with working in an ICU department for a period in between.
“I just saw the ability for her to have such a career that gives back to the community but also allowed her to raise a family and be really involved in mine and my brothers’ lives,” she said.
“She supported me through both my bachelor's and my master’s and when I passed my nurse practitioner tests this summer, she was waiting right outside the door to support me through it all.
Prepped, ready, 𝙇𝙀𝙏’𝙎 𝙂𝙊 😤 🇺🇸 v 🇮🇹 ⏩️ @rugbypass pic.twitter.com/ujAYSPiljI
— USA Rugby (@USARugby) October 28, 2023
“I definitely owe it all to my mom.”
Following a year-long spell with DMP Sharks in the north-east, the all-rounder anticipates an exciting season in Premiership Women’s Rugby, signing for new outfit Leicester Tigers.
Feury will also work as a paediatric nurse in Leicester but before she returns, full focus has been on WXV 2 and the opportunity to grow US rugby.
“I've been involved with the senior side programme since 2016, so to see the growth from then to now is just tremendous,” Feury added.
“We have so many young athletes coming out of university in the States, with just incredible athletic talent and rugby experience.
“I think that's really skyrocketing our game in the US, getting consistent games has always been an issue, but the WXV provides a wonderful platform to guarantee us another three to four games every fall.
“We've been together now training and playing for six weeks. Back in 2016 when I started, that that was a dream and would not even be a possibility.”
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