England lock Abbie Ward has explained that the birth of daughter Hallie has changed her perspective and mentality as she seeks a long-awaited Rugby World Cup win this weekend.
Ward has started the last two World Cup finals but is yet to taste tournament victory, being part of the lineout that faltered at the last against New Zealand in 2022 five years after suffering defeat to the Black Ferns in Belfast.
She is in line to again be part of the first-choice England pack against Canada at a sold-out Allianz Stadium in Twickenham on Saturday having returned to the Red Roses fold at the start of 2024 having taken maternity leave to have her daughter shortly after the last World Cup.
The 32-year-old used to carry a picture in her purse of her shirt from the 2017 defeat, a snap that now sits alongside a number of other polaroids from her career at home as a reminder of her rugby journey.
And while the memories of the two final losses are still present, the arrival of Hallie has changed Ward’s perspective on the sport.
“Hallie is my motivation,” Ward explained. “I think I can be quite a serious individual, very process driven. I'm probably one of the players that is like, 'we need to make sure we do this, this, this and have meetings'. I think coming back after [having Hallie] has made me think, 'get everything you can out of these moments and this squad'. Just enjoy it.
“The time that I am away that I'm sacrificing not with her, I want to make it worth it. I’m just going to enjoy the experience and I’m going to enjoy being with the squad. I'm just going to milk it for what it's worth, because this time of wearing an England shirt is so little and it will go so quickly.
“It definitely has made me think to enjoy every moment to its maximum and try to get involved in everything that I can. Obviously, the on-pitch stuff is the on pitch, but even the off pitch. I think it's helped. It's helped me enjoy it. I'm always going to take it seriously, but it's also helped me like when I need to switch off and not take it so seriously.”
After giving birth in July 2023, Ward made her playing return just 17 weeks later for Bristol Bears and soon earned her place back in the England squad.
She has re-established herself as firmly as a first-choice lock this year, and was among the Red Roses’ most impressive performers in the semi-final win against France – and Ward had always been intent on returning to the sport’s biggest stage.
“I can be pretty stubborn and highly motivated,” she said. “So for me, it was like, well I'm returning and I'm going to play a World Cup. And that's kind of all that I thought about.
“I am pretty relentless when I set my mind to something. So, in that sense, it was: [it’s a] home World Cup, I'm going to be there and I'm going to do everything in my power to get there.
“I think I've definitely grown. I think when I came back to the squad, it was a completely new set-up, new coaches. And I definitely had to try to earn my place back in the squad. It was about getting their trust and showing what I could do.
“You've got an England team that are performing week in, week out. No one's just going to open the gate and say walk back into the squad. So I did find that really tough to get back into.
“It's just been about honing my skills since then. I'm pretty confident in how I'm playing and what I can do for the squad. It's hard when you look around, you've got so many talented players, so many superstars. I just enjoy letting them do their thing and helping them show off their skill sets and just doing the grunt work.”
Ward is insistent, too, that she has plenty more to give in an England shirt and this will not be her last World Cup: “It's not dependent on the result on Saturday, absolutely not. I've got rugby left in me, for sure. I'm not as old as people think.
“Getting wiser, getting fitter, honing my game; in my position you look at the likes of Alun Wyn [Jones], Courtney [Lawes], Sam Whitelock. Why not?”
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