Premiership Women’s Rugby: Abbie Ward wants Red Roses to emulate Lionesses in 2025
Bristol Bears lock Abby Ward is optimistic about 2025 and hopes England can create a legacy by winning the World Cup on home soil.
Success on the European stage is becoming a common trend, with England winning the last six Six Nations, but transferring that to the world stage has proven difficult.
England last won the World Cup in 2014, but have been eliminated in the past two World Cups, finishing runners-up.
With the 2025 World Cup looming in England, Ward, who has 69 caps, hopes to see her teammates follow in the footsteps of their football rivals the Lionesses, who won Euro 2022 on home soil .
“We want to win the home World Cup – we’ve said we’re not going to shy away from that, that’s our number one objective,” Ward told BBC Sport.
“But another success I’d like to see is how we grow the game and create a legacy.
“I think we saw what the Lionesses did at the Euros. Like it was phenomenal. Like why can’t we do this? Why can’t we do this for rugby?”
The success of the euro has recently been attributed to A further 129,000 girls play football in schools.
Ward has participated in two Rugby World Cups in 2017 and 2022 and has witnessed the continued development of domestic rugby in England during her time in the sport.
When the 31-year-old started competing, she had to “pay to compete” and buy her own equipment, but she has seen the sport make huge strides.
“If you start (a game) you pay £6, if you come on as a substitute you pay £4, if you are a student you pay £3 and after the game you pay £1.50 for a belt Potato.
“I think the introduction of professional contracts, not just in England but in other countries as well, has really driven growth in athleticism across the league.
“That in turn really improves performance and allows players to grow, not just in terms of strength, gym and movement, but strategy, tactics, technique, so all aspects of the game are improved and with that It’s the sponsors, the people watching and the TV coverage, so yeah, it’s different day and night.
“It seems like a long time ago that I paid £1.50 for a potato with the skin on in Darlington.”
While most England internationals are on full-time professional contracts, the majority of PWR’s club players have second jobs.
Ahead of the start of the 2024-25 PWR season in October, league owners have launched #PoweredDifferently campaign, external Celebrating both professional and amateur athletes.
Ward’s teammate Simi Palm, who is also a doctor, is one of nine players to tell their stories during the campaign.
Others include tattoo artist and Sale Sharks patron Amber Schonert, RAF flight lieutenant and Exeter Chiefs half-back Lucy Nye and teacher and Saracens center Sydney Gregson.
Opinion was divided during the campaign, with some wanting to see women become elite athletes while others praised the league for its sustainable approach to secure its future.
