Abbie Ward (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Scott, born 27 March 1993) is an English rugby union player. She plays at international level for England, having made her debut for the side in 2015. She currently plays for

Bristol Bears Women Bristol Bears Women, formerly Clifton Ladies RFC, then Bristol Ladies, is a women's rugby union team based in Bristol, England. They are a standalone, independent rugby club, running in partnership with the Bristol Bears (formerly Bristol Rugby) s ...

at club level.

International career

Ward progressed through the England rugby training groups as a teenager and was part of the Under 20s England women's rugby team that won the U20 Nations Cup in 2011. She made her debut for the England seniors team in 2015, playing against Italy. Ward is a world cup finalist after being named in the

2017 Women's Rugby World Cup The 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup was the eighth edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup and was held in Ireland in August 2017. New Zealand became the 2017 champions by beating England 41–32 in the final on 26 August. Matches were held in Dubl ...

squad for England. She started in the final game versus New Zealand. In 2018, she played all England games at the

2018 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2018 Women's Six Nations Championship, also known as the 2018 RBS Women's Six Nations sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 17th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby union competition between six Europ ...

. The following year she was offered a full-time contract with the England team, and went on to help England win the 2019 Women's Six Nations Grand Slam. That summer, she also played for England in the 2019 Super Series, captaining the side for its match versus the USA. A hip injury in 2019 meant that Ward was expected to miss the entirety of the 2020 Women's Six Nations. However, several games of the tournament were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and she was able to play in England's game against Italy in November 2020. The game enabled England to win the Grand Slam and Ward was named Player of the Match. She was named in the England squad for the delayed

2021 Rugby World Cup The 2021 Rugby World Cup was the ninth staging of the women's Rugby World Cup, as organised by World Rugby. It was held from 8 October to 12 November 2022 in Auckland and Whangārei, New Zealand. It was originally scheduled to be held in 2021, ...

held in New Zealand in October and November 2022.

Club career

Ward spent the summer of 2014 playing for the Strathcona Druids in Canada. The same year, she joined the

Darlington Mowden Park Sharks Darlington Mowden Park Sharks Ladies Rugby Football Club (known currently as DMP Durham Sharks for partnership purposes) is a women's rugby union club in Darlington, County Durham, England founded in 1996. Their top try scorer (42 tries in 68 appe ...

before moving to the

Harlequins Women Harlequins Women, formerly known as Harlequins Ladies, are a women's rugby union club based in Guildford, Surrey, England and in Twickenham, Middlesex, England. They were founded in 1995 as the women's team of Harlequin F.C. and rebranded in 2 ...

in 2017. In October 2020 she returned from a hip injury to score a hat-trick of tries in Harlequins' match against DMP Durham Sharks, helping the team win 103-0. She and the team eventually on to win the league for the first time beating defending champions Saracens 25–17. On 16 June 2021, it was announced that Ward would sign with Bristol Bears who had appointed husband

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

as head coach.

Early life and education

Ward was born in Dumfries, Scotland, but grew up in Keswick, Cumbria. She first played rugby at age 10 and attended

Keswick School Keswick School is a coeducational 11–18 academy in Cumbria, UK with 1360 pupils on roll. There are 309 students in the sixth form and 40 boarders. The school is the successor of the former free grammar school of Keswick, founded a ...

and Sedbergh School before gaining a BA in History and Politics and an MSc in Sports Coaching at

Northumbria University , mottoeng = A lifetime of learning , established = 1877 - Rutherford College of Technology1969 - Newcastle Polytechnic1992 - gained university status , type = Public , budget = � ...

. She has three brothers: Fraser, James and David. James has also represented Great Britain as a downhill mountain biker. In August 2020, she married former Harlequins hooker Dave Ward.

References

External links

RFU Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Abbie 1993 births Living people England women's international rugby union players English female rugby union players Rugby union players from Dumfries People from Keswick, Cumbria Rugby union players from Cumbria People educated at Keswick School People educated at Sedbergh School Alumni of Northumbria University Rugby union locks Harlequins Women rugby players Bristol Bears Women players Darlington Mowden Park Sharks players