Handling nerves & speaking Welsh - Packer on England's Grand Slam bid
The 26-year-old and her quicksilver delivery are key to England's hopes in their Grand Slam decider against France on Sunday. And for their ambitions beyond. Natasha Hunt was first-choice scrum-half through the Red Roses' victorious Rugby World Cup campaign last year, but the 37-year-old sustained a knee injury in the opening Six Nations game against Ireland.
A succession plan has been accelerated, pushing Packer into the spotlight. Somewhere, she admits, that isn't her natural habitat. At England's team base, while her room-mate Maud Muir is downstairs playing games with the rest of the team, Packer is more likely to be upstairs reading.
Science-fiction bestseller The Martian is currently on her bedside table. "Maud's obviously the more extroverted friend, we are opposites but we really suit each other," says Packer. Her social media is similarly quiet - a sparse 105 Instagram posts and little else.
Her focus is instead on a part-time master's degree in neuroscience that she will start in September at University College London, focusing on the biochemistry of concussion. "It's a really big topic at the minute and something that I'm really passionate about," Packer adds. Does England's defence put winning streak at risk?
Rugby Union Weekly: Women's Six Nations - Super Sunday Preview Grey matter is something Packer has to master on the pitch, as well as in her studies. Back on the morning of 12 November 2022, Simon Middleton took her aside in the lobby of the team's Auckland hotel. The then-England coach told Packer she would be starting the World Cup final against hosts New Zealand later that day.