RUGBY official Holly Wood has admitted to keeping her pregnancy a secret from her bosses so she could continue to take charge of matches.
She is ready to finally put her career on hold after carrying on for six-and-a-half months while carrying a child.
PAHolly Wood hid her pregnancy from the RFU[/caption]
instagramHolly Wood aims to be back from maternity leave and earn a place in the World Cup in 2025[/caption]
Wood marked her final match before taking leave at last weekend’s clash between Harlequins Women and Exeter Chiefs played at Twickenham.
She told The Telegraph: “I’d never refereed at Twickenham, so it was a great game to sign off on.
“My abs have started to strain a bit when I’m sprinting, so I won’t be able to do my job properly for much longer.”
When the official found out she was pregnant last year, worry set in as she feared the Rugby Football Union wouldn’t allow to referee.
Wood explained: “They probably would have s**t themselves, because this hasn’t been done before.
“They probably would have said no. If I wanted to continue, I knew I had to keep my pregnancy a secret.”
Wood ended up taking charge of an incredible 25 matches and a further 21 as an assistant, ranging from university matches to the men’s second division.
“When you fall pregnant, you don’t know if you’re actually going to be scared to step onto the pitch.
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“But my mindset didn’t shift at all. I wanted to carry on as long as possible. I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve been bumped in a game and it’s zero.
“In the two years that I was trying to get pregnant, I did a lot of research. I read about athletes who have continued to train and compete at a high level, so it was just never a question in my mind that I would stop refereeing.”
Wood has her eyes on returning to officiating after giving birth and she is hoping to be involved in the Women’s World Cup in 2025, which will take place in England.
When eventually telling the RFU about her pregnancy she was met with a positive reaction.
Wood has now written a “pregnancy policy” for refs and she is working with England Rugby to implement it.
There is thought to be 70 active female referees in all levels of rugby at the moment with the RFU hoping to increase the number to 500 by the end of 2024.
PAHolly Wood could become a pioneer for future female rugby officials[/caption] Read More