Ward wants Red Roses to emulate Lionesses in 2025

Bristol Bears lock Abbie Ward is full of optimism for 2025 and hopes England can create a legacy by winning the World Cup on home soil.

Success on the European stage is becoming a common trend, with England winning the last six editions of the Six Nations, however, transferring that onto the world stage has proved difficult.

England last lifted the World Cup in 2014 and have fallen agonisingly short at the last two editions - finishing as runner-up.

With the 2025 World Cup set to be hosted in England, the 69-times capped Ward wants to see her team-mates follow in the footsteps of the Lionesses - their footballing counterparts - who won the won Euro 2022 on home soil.

"We want to win a home World Cup - we've said it we're not shying away from that, that is our number one goal," Ward told BBC Sport.

"But the other success that I want to see is how we grow the game and create a legacy.

"I think we saw what the Lionesses did in the Euros at home. Like it was phenomenal. Like why can't we have that? Why can't we do that for rugby?"

That Euros success was recently credited with 129,000 more girls playing schools football.

Ward, has played at two Rugby World Cups in 2017 and 2022, and has seen domestic rugby in England go from strength to strength during her time in the sport.

When the 31-year-old started out she had to "pay to play" and buy her own kit, but she has seen the sport take huge strides forward.

"You paid £6 if you started [a game], £4 if you came off the bench, three quid if you're a student, and your £1.50 in the pot for a jacket potato after the game.

"I think that introduction of professional contracts, not just at England, but other nations has really kick-started, I think, a growth of athleticism across the league as well.

"That, in turn, has really boosted the performance and it's enabled players to grow, not just in terms of strength and in the gym and athletically, but strategically, tactically, technically, so that all around the game has just has gone up and up and up. And with that has come sponsors, has come people watching and it being televised. So yeah, night and day different.

"It seems like a long, long time ago now that I was paying £1.50 for a jacket potato up at Darlington."

Whilst the majority of England internationals are on full-time professional contracts the majority of club players in the PWR have second jobs.

Prior to the start of the 2024-25 PWR season in October, league bosses launched the #PoweredDifferently campaign, external to celebrate dual-career and amateur athletes.

Ward's team-mate Simi Pam, who also works as a doctor, was one of the nine players to tell their story in the campaign.

Among the others were tattoo artists and Sale Sharks prop Amber Schonert, RAF flight lieutenant and Exeter Chiefs scrum-half Lucy Nye and teacher and Saracens centre Sydney Gregson.

The campaign split opinion, with some wanting to see women showcased as elite athletes, while others are applauding the sustainable approach the league is promoting to help secure its future.

Another sign of growth within the PWR is the ability to draw some of the biggest names in the sport.

Bristol completed the signing of Ilona Maher in December and the American could make her highly-anticipated debut on Sunday against defending champions Gloucester-Hartpury.

Maher, who won Olympic bronze with the USA in the summer, is the most followed rugby union player in the world on social media, with 4.5 million Instagram followers and 3.2 million on TikTok.

"You say superstar, but she's just here to play rugby and she's a very, very good rugby player and I think she will add a lot to the squad, not just because of her rugby, but because she's experienced," Ward said.

"Obviously, there's been a bigger spotlight on Ilona, but it would be the same with any player coming into a team. We've got to make sure there isn't too much pressure.

"Hopefully we can make sure we give her somewhat of an armchair ride to begin with and, you know, ease her in."

Sunday's fixture, a repeat of last season's PWR final which Gloucester-Hartpury won 36-24, has been moved to Ashton Gate due to the demand for tickets because of Maher's potential involvement.