One look at her rugby resume and there’s little wonder Rugby Canada officials named Belleville native Cindy Nelles captain of the Canada Maple Leafs national women’s developmental squad well in advance of their tour to England.

The team left on Tuesday.

Nelles, 22, a St. Theresa Secondary School graduate, has already built an impressive list of credentials on the field, including a tour to New Zealand with the Canadian senior women’s team and a starting spot in the lineup at last summer’s Super Series in Alberta. Nelles also dressed as a national team alternate at the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup in Paris.

Nelles will skipper the Maple Leafs when they clash with England A twice: Tuesday, Dec. 1 and Saturday, Dec. 5.

The Canadian squad is composed of several up-and-comers — like another Belleville native, 20-year-old Katie Svoboda, also of McMaster — and a sprinkling of veteran campaigners to cement the lineup.

Nelles is coming off an outstanding 2015 rugby season, which included leading McMaster University to its first-ever CIS women’s rugby title. The rangy No. 8 was named CIS Player of the Year and championship tournament MVP.

An engineering student at McMaster, Nelles was also a First Team All-Canadian selection and an OUA All-Star for the fourth year in a row.

Despite serving in a stand-by capacity at the last Women’s World Cup, Nelles said the experience was invaluable and will help her skipper the Maple Leafs in England.

“The World Cup had a huge impact on my determination and drive to play on the senior national team,” said Nelles, during a recent interview with Katelyn McCreary. “To see what it’s like at a tournament like that and to experience the determination, the grit and the intensity in your teammates. It’s very inspiring.”

Nelles is excited to use that experience to help lead the Leafs. Some of them could suit-up with her at the next Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2017 in Ireland.

“This tour will be a good experience for the new players because it’ll give them a taste of what it’s like to play on the senior national team,” said Nelles. “If playing for Canada is something they aspire to, then this is the perfect starting point and will act as a bridge to help close the gap between U20 and senior.

“ Having an experience like this in the off-season will serve as a platform to raise the level of the game in our country too, and raise the level of competitiveness for our elite athletes.”

Nelles had a previous gold medal experience in England where she helped Canada win a U20 Nations Cup title. She’s eager to dive into her new role, hopefully with similar results.

“Being selected as captain for this tour and being able to work with the coaches in this new role is an honour and a privilege,” she said. “Going back to England to play rugby will be a lot of fun. But, as with any tour, there comes hard work.

“ I’m ready for it.”