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.