Iona Antwis having it all on and off the pitch with Sharks

Nothing is stopping Iona Antwis from proving you can have it all, on and off the pitch.

The Sale Sharks star has become synonymous with the club since joining in 2022, celebrating a half-century of appearances last December.

The second row bounced back from two ankle reconstruction surgeries that threatened to derail her nascent career, all while balancing her rugby with being a trainee nurse associate, with the 24-year-old pursuing an apprenticeship at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust in-between bouts of Premiership Women's Rugby action.

But Antwis insists she wouldn't have it any other way, with plenty of nursing skills coming in use on the rugby pitch.

"I love it. I love looking after people," said Antwis. "I always wanted to do nursing, but the typical degree structure wasn’t compatible with rugby, especially with the ridiculous unpaid placement hours you have to do, it wouldn’t really fit my schedule.

"I saw that there was an apprenticeship route at Bolton Hospital to do foundation degree as a nursing associate. After that I’d be a qualified nursing associate and hopefully do my top up to become a nurse.

"Because it’s an apprenticeship, I put in a flexible working application so I can work around rugby but it is difficult.

"I do one day a week at uni and then full-time at hospital. There’s a lot of time management and meal prep but I like being busy and I get something out of it at the end with a foundation degree so it’s all worth it.

"Nursing and rugby are really transferable to be honest, definitely from the teamwork side of things, whether it’s working with colleagues or teammates.

"In terms of putting the patient or team first, they’re very similar. They’re also very busy, high-pressure environments, being in rugby and working in a hospital and I think they complement each other."

It has not been the easiest of roads for Antwis, with her consecutive ankle injuries necessitating a two-year absence from the field but she is not one for looking back.

It is a mentality that has seen her overcome every obstacle in her path, from the beginnings of her rugby journey with North Bristol Rugby Club to Sale, via Hartpury College and Loughborough University.

She added: "I always suffered with ankle injuries even when I was at Hartpury and then when I was in an under-20s camp, I tore the ligaments in my ankle, had a surgery, recovered from that and then first session back, did the same thing when I was at Loughborough. 

"It was two years because it was one-year injuries back-to-back and it happened over Covid as well which was pretty rubbish but I had a lot of family support at the time.

"At the stage I was at in my career, I knew I had more to give after my injury because I didn’t feel like I had cemented myself in a Premiership team or anything like that.

"I recovered at Loughborough and by the time I moved to Sale, I didn’t really think about those injuries anymore. They’re just part of my past.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗜𝗼𝗻𝗮 🤩

It's a half century of appearances for @iona_antwis as a Sale Shark. Here's to another 50 👏#SharksFamily #NorthernRugbyMatters pic.twitter.com/NO5z258WwL

— Sale Sharks Women (@SaleSharksWomen) December 1, 2024

Away from rugby, Antwis boasts over five years experience in the healthcare sector and her journey has been inspired by her own experience as a patient.

"I had an experience when I was in the hospital after surgery. You come out of anaesthetic very emotional and I remember in the recovery room how kind the nurses were to me," she said.

"I was in some kind of state crying about my rugby or whatever else. They probably didn’t have a clue what I was crying about but they were so kind.

"I probably only met them for like half an hour, but they built such a good relationship with me and that’s what I like doing in nursing; building relationships with people and make them feel comfortable if they’re really poorly or injured."

Away from the wards, Sharks have endured a challenging start to the season and they will be looking to start the New Year with a bang when they take on Leicester Tigers on Saturday.

Sharks lost the reverse fixture 34-17 last month and Antwis is hopeful her side's hard work on the training field proves the perfect platform to make amends.

She added: "I think we’re kind of looking for a bit of revenge from the last time we played Leicester. I don’t think we were happy with our performance as a team so we’re looking to get after it this weekend.  

"It’s really important for the vibes within the team but it’s really difficult taking many losses on the bounce. It’d be good to have a reward for the hard work we’ve been putting in."