Abbie Ward: Title would be 'icing on the cake' of 'rollercoaster year'

This time a year ago Abbie Ward was expecting her first child and the thought of helping Bristol Bears reach a first Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby final in 12 months seemed fanciful.

But fast-forward to 2024, and that is exactly what Ward and Bears have achieved, with daughter Hallie set to walk out with her mum ahead of the clash with Gloucester-Hartpury on Saturday.

Ward is already a trailblazer, having continued to train while pregnant and returned to playing just 17 weeks after giving birth.

Since that return, she has helped England win the Grand Slam in May and could now complete a memorable double with Bristol Bears.

She said: “If you had said to me this time last year, I hadn’t even had Hallie, my daughter, yet, that next year you would be playing in a Prem final, I’d have said no way.

“But it’s testament to the support I’ve had around me, the way the girls have backed me, the staff, Dave (Ward, her husband and Bristol Bears coach), the whole team, the medical team, the S&C team, how I have been able to come back into the squad and build and grow throughout the year.

“Any year would be phenomenal to get to this point, but this year, it’s been such a rollercoaster, such a blur but it would be the icing on the cake.

“Hallie will be there. The plan is for her to walk out with me, which will be a really nice way to round out the season.

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Go behind the scenes as @AbbieWard93 chronicles her remarkable journey back to the professional game just 17 weeks after the birth of her baby Hallie

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“I walked out for the first Prem game with her, she was very young there but for the last Prem game would be great. There is me but she’s got a lot of aunties who she is supporting, who have been great and have supported us. It will be a great family occasion.”

Hallie will also have a number of aunties in the opposition on Saturday, with reigning champions Gloucester-Hartpury packed with England internationals, including Zoe Aldcroft, who has regularly partnered Ward in the second row for the Red Roses.

Gloucester-Hartpury finished the regular season at the top of the table, losing just once all season. Bears, meanwhile, made history by becoming the first team to win an away semi-final, beating Saracens 29-21 after an impressive comeback.

That demonstrated the character of the side, and Ward knows they will have to be even better to deny Gloucester-Hartpury a second successive title.

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She added: “We can take a lot of confidence from the semi-final but it’s up to us to take another step forwards for the final. It shows a lot of growth within the squad.

“We can be comfortable conceding, we don’t want to concede but if we are in those situations, we know what to do to build our way back into the game. The first half of the first half, there was a lot of Saracens momentum and then you add in a yellow card, so it was about us finding a way which we did.

“I think that shows a lot of growth from where we have come from in the last couple of years, not being able to get across the line in those semis. It shows we have taken that step forward as a whole squad.

“Gloucester-Hartpury have been there, they have done it, they are the current Prem champions and have had an amazing season. They have only lost one game and have been consistent in what they have done and how they have executed.

“It’s a huge challenge for us but not one that we will shy away from. We will relish it. Gloucester have got a lot of threats all over the park, but so do we so it’s about how we can impose our game on them and exploit any weaknesses if they have any.”

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