'Mums thank me for changing the narrative' - how motherhood in rugby evolved
Seeing Abbie Ward parade around a sold-out Allianz Stadium with the Women's Rugby World Cup trophy in one hand and her daughter Hallie in the other was an image that stuck with team-mate Lark Atkin-Davies. Lock Ward is expecting her second child later this year. She returned to international rugby in 2024 after becoming the first contracted England woman to have a baby since the Red Roses went professional in 2019.
Motherhood did not have to wait until after her career. The 33-year-old returned 17 weeks after giving birth and, just under two years later, started and scored in the 2025 World Cup final. Hooker Atkin-Davies, a replacement in that final and inspired by Ward's return to rugby, announced she was pregnant with her first child in December 2025 and, like Ward, is due to give birth this summer.
England captain Zoe Stratford and fellow World Cup winner Rosie Galligan also announced pregnancies earlier this year. "Seeing Abbie go through her pregnancy with Hallie was the turning point," Atkin-Davies told BBC Sport. "I always had this desire to be a mum, but I did not know what it would look like.
I love playing rugby - it is a huge part of who I am. "I thought I would love to have a baby and return, but I didn't know how that would work. Not many people have done it.
"One of the key moments was seeing Abbie on the pitch after the World Cup final, with the trophy in her hands. I saw it was possible, and I want to give it a shot. " The players will be supported by the Rugby Football Union's maternity policy, updated in February 2023.