It will be a dream coming true for Eliza Baddock when she heads to Kuala Lumpur in May to represent Australia at the Touch World Cup.
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It is a pursuit that Baddock has had since a young age however with a number of injuries thought the opportunity might never come her way.
"From a young age I have always been playing touch and have always played at a relatively high level," she said.
"But then had a few knee injuries and a couple of knee reconstructions so I didn't really think I'd get the opportunity to play for Australia."
It hasn't been an easy path to the national team with regular trips up to Sydney to play for the East Roosters seeing Baddock catch the eye of the national selectors.
"I was playing in Sydney for East Roosters, so I travelled down there whenever I could to play for them and then got picked up through that system," she said.
"From there I got asked to go to the selection camp in Brisbane where we trialled for the weekend which was really full on and then found out from there that I had been selected in the team which was terrific.
"Having the opportunity to play in Sydney with Easts has really allowed me to be seen. You don't really have the opportunity to be seen out here as much as the city teams."
It has been a rigorous training campaign for the 31-year-old to ensure she is in the best possible shape when the World Cup rolls around at the end of April.
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"Prior to the selection camp I was probably training for about a month," she said.
"Since finding out I have been training pretty much every day and sometimes twice a day doing running programs and gym work as well so it has been pretty full on."
With the trip having to be played for by Baddock herself she has started a fundraising page and has been amazed by the response.
"The support has been overwhelming," she said.
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"I have always wanted to play touch for Australia and at 31 to be making my debut is pretty exciting."
- Eliza Baddock