SHE says she couldn’t even talk to her family about her chances of being selected for this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio, but Drybrook’s Natasha ’Mo’ Hunt has secured her spot in Team GB’s rugby sevens squad.

Hunt has been a mainstay of the England sevens set-up since signing a full-time professional contract with the RFU in 2014, after winning the World Cup with fellow Forester Ceri Large that summer.

She was coy on the likelihood of her selection, which was announced yesterday morning, when England secured qualification last May, but Mo says she was ’quietly confident’ she’d be on the plane from Heathrow next week.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling to have been selected,” she said.

“I can’t really put it into words. I get choked up every time I talk about it!

“I’ve gone from learning about the Olympics, to teaching in it, and now being selected to compete in it is amazing.

“I was quietly confident, because I was being selected consistently for the England squads, which have stayed quite similar.

“You never know what’s coming round the corner, whether its injuries or a dip in form; sometimes the coaches want different things so you’re never certain.

“I couldn’t speak to my family about it because I was on edge about being picked. But we’re going to go out there hoping to win gold.”

Mo and the rest of the team fly out to Brazil on Monday after training at Bishop Abbey one last time on Sunday evening, and the Drybrook RFC and Dene Magna alumni is also looking forward to the perks of Olympic representation.

“British Airways have put us up in business class, which I’m looking forward to. It’ll be surreal, being a Forest girl up in business class!”