Bristol Bears unleashed a dominant display on Sale Sharks in the opening game of the Premiership Women’s Rugby season. The rebranded league has been called a new era for women’s rugby and something that epitomised where the game is going more than anything was Bristol second row Abbie Ward walking out at Ashton Gate with her 17-week-old baby, Hallie.
Ward, who returned for the first time since the World Cup final in November 2022, was the first contracted Red Roses player to benefit from the Rugby Football Union’s new maternity policy and when she announced her pregnancy she targeted the 2023-24 season as her return to play – not only did she feature but she came immediately into the starting XV.
