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Abbie Ward describes the moment she found out she was pregnant as one of "shock and excitement".

Ward announced in January that she was expecting her first child, making her the first contracted England woman to become pregnant since the Red Roses went professional in 2019.

A part of the England side who lost a second successive World Cup final to New Zealand in November, Ward is still in the gym and on the pitch as much as ever.

She describes her pregnancy as a "distraction" and a "new focus" although she wants to continue working with club side Bristol Bears and England for as long as she can.

Being a professional rugby player doesn't easily lead itself to keeping a pregnancy quiet. Ward describes telling some "white lies" to club team-mates about why she wasn't in certain sessions.

While the coaches, doctors and physios were all in on the news, she didn't tell her team-mates until recently - and their reaction helped Ward, who had been worried about letting them down.

"We announced it in a meeting - there were a lot of faces that were very shocked and a few tears," Ward says.

New RFU policy is 'world-leading'

The lock, who has been capped 61 times, says she will be a happy "guinea pig" for the Rugby Football Union's new maternity policy.

The RFU is expected to announce the new legislation for its female athletes later this month and the Red Roses were given a presentation on it in their recent camp before the Six Nations.

Without giving away the details, Ward described the policy as "world-leading".

It is understood the union has looked other sports to help formulate that policy, while also working with the current playing group.

There will be room within the policy for the players to "change and adapt it" according to Ward.

While other Red Roses have become parents while playing, Ward is the first full-time professional to carry a child.

Ward hopes to help and support both Bristol and England throughout her pregnancy and cites as inspiration the experiences of Marlie Packer and Katy Daley-Mclean, who both became parents and then returned to playing.

"We talk about how much Marlie has changed her game the last couple of years, she's attributed a lot of that to [her son] Oliver," Ward says.

"I'm really excited for the challenge."

At 29, Ward is hopeful of a return to the top level but is realistic. She says: "I know it's going to be extremely hard, and I know I'm putting myself under pressure saying it, but I want to get back.

"I love rugby and I don't see that this should stop my career.

"I want to show that to all the girls coming through the pathway that you don't have to retire, you don't have to put it off, you can do both."

England aim to give Middleton 'perfect finish'

Ward also hopes outgoing Red Roses coach Simon Middleton gets "the perfect finish" in the Six Nations.

She was in the Red Roses camp last week when Middleton told the group he would be leaving after the tournament finishes in April - with their first standalone fixture at Twickenham, against France.

"It was a little bit unexpected. Mids has been such a mainstay of this Red Roses team," Ward says.

"Women's rugby is in a really exciting place. There will be a a lot of excitement about the calibre of people that will be interested [in the job].

"The next World Cup [in 2025] is at home and is in England; that's got to be pretty interesting to anyone who's a coach."