Christiana Balogun on becoming a Bear

The versatile forward, who joins the Bears from Wasps, says she has settled into the squad nicely and has been enjoying becoming a part of the club's vision.

“Everyone is really welcoming and accommodating. It’s just a great environment to be in. The HPC looks amazing on the outside, but the people on the inside are fantastic too," she said.

“The vision of the club itself was defiantly attractive and arriving here you can see that everyone has that same vision. Everyone knows where we want to get to as a club. Obviously, the style in which Bears play as well is attractive to me with just the type of player I am. I felt like I could fit in quite seamlessly, which I think I have.” 

Similar to the rest of her teammates, Balogun was welcomed on pre-season launch day with the bronco.

“The bronco, well maybe we shouldn’t even talk about that because that was terrible. I wouldn’t say that was a very warm welcome to be honest. It went alright. The bronco is what it is. It’s going to hurt for however long it takes you to do it.”

Despite the gruelling first training session, the forward says that training has been going well.

“The training sessions have been really good; they’ve been very quick. There’re lots of different areas which you have to focus your mind on. There’re various aspects of the game we cover as well, so everything is very sharp, very fast, and execution is something we prioritise in all sessions.

“Knowing that that’s a benchmark which I have to hit is good. The sessions are challenging, but enjoyable as well.”

For those who may not have seen Balogun play, she describes herself as a “very dynamic, very explosive and an aggressive player. I play with a lot of emotion and passion, and that just comes out on the pitch mainly in collisions.

“I would say that’s the part of the game I enjoy the most, but I think that the way Bears play, the style is very expansive, and I think it would suit how dynamic I am as a player. At the same time, it will challenge areas of my game in which I need to improve a bit, so not only will it amplify me, it will also challenge me to take a step up and keep improving."

With the fixtures close to being announced and the first pre-season friendly in a few weeks' time, everything is set to be an exciting season in a World Cup year.

“I’m looking forward to the start of the season. I think the first few games we have are a block of Cup fixtures, so I’m looking forward to injecting myself, asserting my dominance and earning a shirt.  Then when the internationals are back from World Cup duty just keeping that shirt,” said Balogun.

With her move down to the west country currently in progress, Balogun is looking forward to getting to know Bristol.

“I hear the food places in Bristol are really good. I’ve been to a few, and they’ve been pretty good. I’ve had a bit of an explore, but I look forward to doing more of that. I’m a massive foody, so I’ve been ticking the recommendations off of my list.”