Rooted in PWR: Lark Atkin-Davies

It is a long way from Ludlow to Allianz Stadium, but Lark Atkin-Davies has taken every part of the journey in her stride. The hooker has been a mainstay of England’s Red Roses set-up for the past six years as part of an impressive career rooted in over a decade spent in the PWR.

The 30-year-old has represented Worcester Warriors, Loughborough Lightning, and current club Bristol Bears in England’s top flight but her journey began amongst the grassroots of the West Midlands with Luctonians and then Worcester RFC.

With opportunities for girls' rugby thin on the ground, Atkin-Davies relied on her parents doing 45-minute journeys to support her burgeoning talent – something she never took for granted. “I loved watching rugby, I had always enjoyed watching it with my dad and grandparents, but I didn’t really know that it was possible for me to play,” she said. “A teacher came to my primary school and said we are all going to go and play tag rugby and I absolutely loved it. “I played at school and then found a local team. From there I went to play for Worcester, that was the local girls' side and didn’t really look back. I had always played lots of different sports but it just felt like it was the game for me.

“From a fairly young age I thought I could be fairly good at this and I felt it was the sport for me. 

"Playing rugby, it felt right and it was the place for me. Around 14 or 15, I actually started to think I could do well at this sport and wanted to progress. I wanted to go to a World Cup with England.

“The thing for me when I was growing up was that I didn’t realise that I could have gone and played with the boys. Had I known that, and my parents known that I probably would have played from a younger age.

“What I love about my local area now is that the girls’ sections at the clubs I played for are thriving. 

"At Luctonians, they have a girls section, and a women’s section. That is now on my doorstep so now there is that access for girls to go and play at a local rugby club.”

Travel was not the only barrier in Atkin-Davies’ way to the top of the sport, something she quickly found out after graduating from the University of Worcester with a degree in primary education. After balancing top-flight rugby with her studies, the rigours of doing so alongside a full-time job in early years education proved more difficult. After missing out on the 2017 World Cup squad, Atkin-Davies was left at a crossroads in her career. “I knew that something had to change, so I took the financial risk to go part-time,” she added. “That was really tricky at the time in terms of managing finances but also I really wanted to get more regular Red Roses caps. I wanted to get a contract with England.

"I took a risk, and I am proud of that. It allowed me more time to recover, to do analysis. Being part-time allowed me more time to develop my skills as a rugby player and try and have that life as a professional rugby player.”

The full-time contract she wanted came in 2019, four years after a debut against the USA when she came off the bench to replace Amy Cokayne aged just 20.

“Making my England debut was absolutely amazing. It probably came a bit sooner than I thought it would,” she reflected.

“I was incredibly proud of what I had put in to be there, to run out with everyone and become a Red Rose for the first time was surreal in a way but something I am really proud of.” A move to full-time rugby with the Red Roses has helped Atkin-Davies establish herself as one of the leading front row operators in the PWR and beyond. It is a status she does not take for granted and hopes the direction of travel of women’s rugby means it becomes the norm in the near future. “I would love to see in five or 10 years time that the league is professional,” she said. “I know some people absolutely love their professions and I would never want to take that away from people in our sport, but it is really difficult to balance.” For that to happen, Atkin-Davies hopes the 2025 Rugby World Cup is a transformational force. The Red Roses have already made huge waves with record-breaking crowds at Allianz Stadium, but Atkin-Davies knows World Cup victory on home soil has the potential to inspire a new generation.

“It means so much, a home World Cup, not just for us as Red Roses but for the next generation - anyone that is going to watch the World Cup and be inspired to take up the sport,” she said.

“If you look at the growth of the women’s game in the past few years, it is so exciting to see where we could go after this World Cup.

“As a legacy, it would be amazing to see a massive boost in the sport. We are getting more people to games, everyone is wanting to come and watch. The aim is to go and win a World Cup and for people to be inspired watching us.”