The former Wales prop is relishing the opportunity of preparing his side for the historic occasion. And Horsman understands the opportunity in their hands as his coaching staff prepares for the big game.
“We’re looking at this as an historical occasion, we’ve been speaking about it this week, we remember that Gareth Edwards try against the All-Blacks,” Horsman said.
“Anytime as a player or coach you’re involved in this fixture it’s a fantastic opportunity but where it fits with us at the moment with our program, it is a big occasion. We’ve spoken to the girls and that’s where we want to be heading, we want to be playing in big pressurised situations and it’s great that we’ve got that this weekend.
“More importantly where it fits in with the Autumn series and what that means for us as a group, is that we have clear objectives and this game falls into it but I think the big thing for me is the excitement around it, it is historical and it’s great that we’re playing with the men.
“For me it’s my first full international as a coach at the national stadium so we’re all absolutely buzzing. We’ve all got our own individual reasons why we’re looking forward to it but I think crucially it is the ‘us’ that’s important as a group.”
The women’s side have been building their momentum with three wins on the bounce after their game in Madrid, and the group has built a strong sense of unity within the camp.
And whilst the results on the pitch in recent weeks have been positive, Horsman is focusing on the performances first before worrying over the final score.
Horsman added, “We’ve talked about results but they’re just an outcome, the most obvious thing that we’ve spoken to the girls about is closing that performance gap.
“It’s like anything, even in a game, momentum is crucial. A period of ten minutes can be the difference between winning and losing and that’s something as a group we’re trying to grow and understand, so it’s been really pleasing in the last two or three performances.
“We’re building momentum in lots of different ways. The pleasing factor in the last four performances, I include Spain in it because that was a huge part of our journey, is the fact that we have fourteen new caps, and seven of those new caps are going to be on the field and starting on the bench on Saturday.”
