Wood to referee PWR Final 86 days after giving birth

Just 86 days after giving birth to her second child, Holly Wood will referee her first Premiership Women’s Rugby Final on Sunday.

Having kept her pregnancy a secret during the Rugby World Cup last year, Wood officiated up to 20 weeks and continued as an assistant until the end of her second trimester.

She returned to refereeing just seven weeks after giving birth to her daughter, Adaline, on 3 April, with her first match back in the PWR coming in Big Pink Weekend at the end of May.

On Sunday, she will oversee the showpiece between Saracens and Trailfinders Women at Twickenham Stoop, a responsibility she is relishing.

“I am very passionate about the women’s game, having been so involved in it for so many years,” the former Richmond and Harlequins player said.

“It is the pinnacle. We are the best league in the world, and it is an honour and a privilege to be given the whistle for this game. I understand the weight and history of the league and I want to do a good job to do the game a service.

“I always had the PWR Final in the back of my mind. I went to the World Cup last summer, and I found out I was pregnant three weeks before that.

“During the World Cup, I wanted my selection, especially in the knockout stages, to be purely on my performance and not related to anything else that was going on externally.

“I have officiated in 33 games this season, so it doesn’t feel like I have had a season out at all, which is amazing.”

Wood broke new ground in officiating when she returned to refereeing eight weeks after having her son, Huxley, now three.

This time around, she made her return a week earlier in a men’s Division One County Cup game, crediting the support from her family, but also trusting her intuition on what felt right.

Wood added: “I did a 5k run the day before my due date and that kicked me into labour, and she came on her due date, which was pretty cool.

“I had a really straightforward and rapid birth as well. I knew I was in a good place because I did a fitness test at 34 weeks and got a pretty good score, but it was just how my rehab would go.

“Every baby is different in terms of sleeping and their needs, but with the support of my husband and family around us, it has enabled me to have the time to rest and rehab, as well as soaking in that newborn bubble."

The PWR Final is returning to Twickenham Stoop for the first time in 10 years in a full-circle moment for Wood.

In 2016, she was playing for Richmond under her maiden name Myers, and scored as they beat Saracens 28-17.

“It is probably one of my favourite rugby memories,” Wood said. “At that time, Richmond were the leaders in the women’s game.

“It was in January, it was absolutely freezing, there was a man and his dog in the stands. There were probably about 150 people watching, including our diehard Richmond fans.

“I scored an interception try in the 35th minute, so going into half-time, we were up. Going back out, we knew it was our game to win.

“It was a great occasion, it was the first televised women’s Premiership game, on Sky Sports, so it was awesome that we could have family and friends watching on who couldn’t be at the final. It was the last final before we then went into the Premier15s, so it was quite significant.”

Poppy Cleall, Lotte Sharp (then Clapp), and Deborah Wills (then Fleming) were all part of Saracens’ team that day and are with the club now as they prepare to take on Trailfinders Women on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Sara Cox was the referee in the middle that day, soon after becoming the first woman in rugby to be a professional referee.

Wood admits refereeing was far from her mind then but is proud now to be showing a path for players and mothers alike.

She added: “My journey has been from a player to referee and then doing motherhood throughout refereeing. It just shows that it is possible.

“You also have a community with your societies, the friends that you make, and the journey you can go on.

“Before my son turned one, he had been to 10 countries with me on World Rugby duty.

“For me, rugby is the ultimate family sport. My mum played rugby, and I had my teen years on the sideline of the rugby pitch watching her play.

“The family element has always been really important to me, as has breaking down barriers. The referee is human, we do have a family, we have day jobs, and we care about the game just as much as anyone."