Tatyana Heard perches on a white chair at England’s training base, feeling the exertions of a long, hard day and reflecting on four long, hard years. There are many tales of resilience in women’s rugby but the centre has had to battle more than most. Against Italy on Sunday, the 28-year-old will make her third Women’s Six Nations start some 50 months on from her last, an intervening period that has tested the resolve of a gifted player.
In 2019, the centre was one of the first 28 England players awarded a full-time contract, a rising star of the English game backed by Simon Middleton to become a key midfield fulcrum. But an untimely dip in form left Heard on the fringes, before a ruptured ACL – not the first of a young career - ended her hopes of a renewal of the eight-month contract entirely. In the current landscape, where those outside of the international set-up cannot make a living playing rugby, missing out was all the more difficult.
