VICTORIA – Paige Farries has never had an issue adjusting to new surroundings and circumstances.

Now, after five years of dominating Canadian rugby pitches from coast to coast, she is taking her talents into the professional ranks across the pond.

"I was having some serious FOMO when hearing about people starting to train and get excited for the new college season. I wanted to check out what the next big thing to do with my career was and we will see where this goes," said Farries, 25.

It was announced in May that the Vikes star winger signed a contract with the Worcester Warriors – a semi-professional women's rugby team that competes in the Tyrrells Premier 15s league.

"I'm really excited to become part of a team and become part of the Warrior community. The league has great infrastructure. Each club has a medical team consisting of a doctor, physiotherapist and high-performance coach; they financially support their players with a match fee and it is an unbelievably high quality of rugby in one of the most rugby-crazy countries," said Farries.

Not too long ago, Farries made a connection via email with the club from England. She wired over a highlight video along with her international resume featuring 10 caps with the Canadian national team.

"I have seen Paige progress on the international stage over the past few seasons and have been fortunate to meet her when she was in the United Kingdom," said Warriors Director of Rugby Coach Jo Yapp. "She is hard working and has developed into a great finisher. Her performances against New Zealand and England last summer showed how much potential she has."

It didn't take long for a contract for the 2020-21 season to come back her way. The Warriors will start her in the back row and see how she adjusts moving forward.

"She will be playing in a very competitive league against world class players, so this will be a great opportunity for her to prepare for the World Cup," said Yapp. "We are excited Paige has chosen to join us."

Farries blows defenders away with her game-breaking speed and crushes their dreams with the ability to deliver in the clutch on the biggest stage.

Those qualities will be a welcome sight next year for the Warriors, who placed eighth out of 10 teams with a 3-9 record last season.

The Premier league has been around since 2016 with each team playing once per weekend. Most of the women's teams share facilities with men's teams, as the league attempts to go mainstream.

"As recent as a few years ago, I didn't think this could happen for women's sport. I just figured you had to be super lucky to get paid to play somewhere," said Farries. "But recently, female tennis, ice hockey, soccer and basketball have received more funding and have really taken off, which I think opened doors for this opportunity."

The newly minted contract comes off the heels of one of Farries' most impressive seasons with the Blue and Gold.

In the fall, the two-time All-Canadian led the Vikes to a 4-1 record in 15s (their highest single-season win total) while producing four tries. In the spring, she registered a last-second try to deliver the win against her former University of Alberta Pandas in the Vikes penultimate 7s game, which paved the way for the Vikes to record their second undefeated season, all while three-peating as Canada West champs. Although she only played in two-thirds of the games, she finished tied for 11^th in scoring with 50 points.

But Farries doesn't just perform on the conference stage. The 2020 Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year finalist produced tries on the international level for a few years.

In between stints with the Pandas (2012) and the University of Western Ontario Mustangs (2015-17), Farries was an islander, when she lived in Langford and trained with the national 7s program. Sadly, she was released from the team prior to the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janerio.

But luckily, during her time in 2013 and 2014 with the national team, she made a connection with a teammate, Brittany Waters, the current Vikes head coach since 2015.

"Having her experience, work ethic and intelligence around our athletes was huge for the development of our athletes and our program. I have seen her play up close and from the sidelines for years and I think she will do great over in England," said Waters. "Playing at the next level will be a challenge, but I think it won't take her long to find success."

The Red Deer, Alta. product is still on the Island, training as often as she can given the current conditions. The Warriors have sent her training regimes snd she attends as many Zoom conference calls with her new club as the eight-hour time change allows.

It is impossible to predict how the world will look from week to week, let alone month to month, but if all goes well, Farries hopes to be onboard a transatlantic flight by mid-August for her new rugby home.