Pregnancy reveals are often unique, joyous moments people have come to share with the masses, but a fear of losing out on work forced Holly Wood to keep her condition under wraps.
The rugby referee—and former Harlequins scrum-half—fell pregnant with husband Emmerson last year but kept the news a secret as she was worried her bosses at the Rugby Football Union "would have s*** themselves." Amid financial concerns across the sport, the matter of maternity leave is one without a recognised route in rugby, and Wood wasn't willing to take the risk while she still felt she could perform her role.
The result was Wood overseeing 46 matches—25 as referee and 21 as an assistant—in the Allianz Premier 15s, men's lower leagues and BUCS university divisions while carrying her child. That didn't prevent the 30-year-old from officiating 23 games at December's Dubai Sevens, where she was named Referee of the Tournament.
“They probably would have s*** themselves, because this hasn’t been done before,” she told the Telegraph when asked about the prospect of coming clean to bosses. “They probably would have said no. If I wanted to continue, I knew I had to keep my pregnancy a secret.”
Despite there being no infrastructure in place for referees who become pregnant, Wood took matters into her own hands by preparing one in time for her 'confession' at a mid-season review. At the time, England Rugby was putting the finishing touches on such a policy for last year's World Cup runners-up, the Red Roses.
But her pregnancy will function as a case study for the union, with her plan since being approved and ready to come into action later in 2023. As for any fears over whether continuing to work while pregnant would impact the baby, Wood was steadfast in her desire to continue as though nothing had changed.
“When you fall pregnant, you don't know if you're actually going to be scared to step onto the pitch,” she added. “But my mindset didn't shift at all. I wanted to carry on as long as possible.
"I can count on one hand the amount of times I've been bumped in a game and it's zero. In the two years that I was trying to get pregnant, I did a lot of research. I read about athletes who have continued to train and compete at a high level, so it was just never a question in my mind that I would stop refereeing.”
It was actually some of Wood's fellow peers—big-name referees Wayne Barnes and Luke Pearce among them—who were the first to notice her bulging bump in the workplace. Difficult as it might have been to be a pioneer in her industry, Wood's work implementing a clear plan for pregnant officials promises to have a hugely positive impact.
For any concerns she might have had in recent months, the former No. 9 expressed the response to her situation was "super positive" and that "attitudes at the RFU are changing." With plans for the organisation to employ 500 new women referees by the end of 2024, Wood couldn't have picked a better time to spearhead such a vital shift in the sport.
