Abbie Ward is known for her strong leadership qualities and lineout wins. She currently represents England and the Bristol Bears Women. Her breakout performance came in 2011, when she represented England U20s and won the U20 Nations Cup.
Born in Dumfries on 27 March 1993, Ward spent most of her childhood in Keswick, Cumbria. Her first taste of rugby was at the age of 10 when she was a pupil at Keswick School. When her school days were over, she was accepted at Northumbria University, where she graduated with a degree in History and Politics before progressing to an MSc in Sports Coaching.
Ward’s career began as a teenager. She excelled in England rugby training groups and was subsequently selected for the U20s in 2011. Three years later, Ward spent the summer playing for Strathcona Druids, a Canadian team. She signed for the Darlington Mowden Park Sharks in the same year and transferred to Harlequins in 2017.
Following her success in the U20s, Ward made her debut for the England senior team in 2015. She impressed from the off and scored a try in her first start against Italy. She quickly became a key member of the team and was chosen for the 2017 Rugby World Cup squad, where she started in the final against New Zealand.
A talented and tough lock, Ward has earned some impressive achievements at the Six Nations. She competed in all five matches during the 2018 tournament and was part of the winning team in 2019 – she was offered a full time contract in the same year. Following a hip injury, Ward excelled during the 2020 Six Nations and her try in England’s final game earned her Player of the Match accolades. She then went on to sign for Bristol Bears in 2021 and became a key member of the England side that finished as runners-up at the 2021 Rugby World Cup.
Even with such an exciting career to date, we’re sure we haven’t seen the best of Abbie Ward just yet.
It was announced in early January of this year that Bristol Bears player Abbie Ward and her husband, Head Coach Dave Ward were expecting their first child together.
When she’s not captaining her nation to Olympic qualification, Abbie Brown is providing Loughborough Lightning with a last line of defence at fullback. There is, perhaps, no player who better balances the twin pressures of playing in the PWR and running out regularly for GB Sevens, so we caught up with her ahead of the league season kicking off to find out how she, and her team, were doing.
England Women's 