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WRITING HER OWN SCRIPT - TRAILBLAZING REFEREE HOLLY WOOD
With a name like Holly Wood, it is perhaps not surprising the trailblazing rugby referee has become accustomed to writing her own scripts, writes Abi Curran.
From overseeing her first Test less than four months after the birth of her son Huxley to drafting pregnancy guidelines for female match officials, the 31-year-old is no stranger to breaking new ground.
Wood’s current mission is proving refereeing is a viable pathway for mothers and elite players alike, with her Pregnancy and Match Official Guidance, released by the RFU in October, covering issues such as breastfeeding and ensuring female officials return to the game at the level they left it.
“When I told the RFU about my pregnancy, I wanted it to be a really positive experience,” she said.
“Being the first referee at my level to have a baby, I wanted it to move in the right direction and I’m so pleased the RFU thought the pregnancy policy was a great idea.
“I don’t think enough high-performance players are looking at refereeing as a possibility.
“I had no interest in it whatsoever but when I was playing for Toulouse, my husband, then boyfriend, encouraged me to do a refereeing course. He promised me I’d love it and I didn’t look back.
“Refereeing scrums and lineouts was quite exciting, I didn’t really know about ‘the dark arts of the scrum’ and it was so fun to relearn the game.
“I would love to see some of the Premiership girls go down that route when they get to retirement age.”
Wood has a proud family history in the oval ball world – her mother played sevens and her grandfather reached semi-pro status in rugby league, at which Wood herself represented England at the 2013 World Cup.
Her international debut with the whistle came in September’s WXV warm-up between Scotland and Spain and she went on to officiate in WXV2 in South Africa, where she donated her breastmilk as a way of keeping up her supply.
Abbie Ward is another to have made a swift return to action this season after giving birth, featuring in Bristol Bears’ season opener when just 17 weeks postpartum, and Wood hopes their stories can act as inspiration.
“Watching Abbie’s journey with Hallie has been amazing to see,” she said.
“We’ve ended up doing it concurrently with playing and refereeing, and the support we've both been getting has been amazing.
“When I got to Sale v Saracens at the weekend, the girls on both teams were taking Huxley into the changing room and playing with him.
“I wheeled him onto the pitch to go and warm up, and Katy Daley-McLean said she’ll look after him. It was just so nice to have that support from the whole rugby family.”
Wood’s next big goal is to return to Twickenham, where she officiated Big Game 14 in her final fixture before giving birth, while the 2025 World Cup on home soil also in her sights.
“All the support I’ve had from having Huxley has been pretty exceptional,” she added.
“Physically, I have to thank rugby a lot for the way I was able to train and recover in the way that I did, I had a natural birth and I was in and out of hospital within 12 hours.
“I sometimes have to pinch myself at how lucky I am - but then I remind myself I worked so hard with my training the whole way through.”
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