The Women’s Rugby World Cup is just around the corner, and Red Roses centre Tatyana Heard is raring to go.
One of England’s most recognised and celebrated female rugby players, Heard was born in Pisa before spending her early years in the USA. She relocated to North Yorkshire with her family when she was five years old and, not long after, she discovered rugby. She’d long loved watching her brother play, but sparked her own personal passion for the sport when asked to compete in a tag tournament at school.
Known for her athleticism, strength, and calm professionalism, she’s had an impressive career, with three Premiership Women’s Rugby titles in a row with her team, Gloucester-Hartpury, under her belt. That said, it hasn’t always been plain sailing. Dropped from the England Women’s team in 2018 after enduring three different ACL injuries before the age of 24, she ended up working in Asda to make ends meet.
Still, she soldiered on, focusing on her rehab, training, and mental endurance, with one clear goal: to play rugby fall-time and get the call-up for her national squad once more.
Being a woman in sport, to the athlete, still remains nuanced. Statistically, female athletes are funded less and given less airtime than their male counterparts. There aren’t as many professional opportunities, and wages remain significantly lower. That said, the dial is slowly moving to even the playing field and make sporting opportunities equal for all.
Below, Heard shares a little more of her story, aka her life in sport and what it means to be a woman in sport in 2025. Keep scrolling to read what inspired her to pursue rugby full-time, how she uses fashion for self-expression, and her hopes for the upcoming World Cup, to boot.
Tatyana Heard, shot by Maggie Joyner
You're one of England's most recognised and celebrated female rugby players. What does it mean to you to be a woman in sport?
Being a woman in sport brings so much confidence that you don't necessarily have growing up. That's what rugby’s brought me - it allowed me to be myself, be individual, and be independent. There are so many different characters in women's rugby and in women's sports, and it’s really empowering to be able to be a part of that.
Did you love rugby from a young age? Or was there one light bulb moment where you were like, I could actually make a career out of this?
I had one light-bulb moment when I was 17. I had just got into the England Under-20s team, and I realised that maybe I could be good at the sport. Up until that point, I’d always worked hard, but I mainly did it because I enjoyed it so much.
My first cap in 2018 was a whirlwind, but again, it was another moment that made me feel I could pursue rugby professionally and full-time. It wasn't until 2019 that they introduced permanent full-time contracts, and that was the moment that I thought, I really want this and really want it to be my life.
Impostor syndrome is quite a big thing for a lot of athletes, especially female athletes. Have you ever felt it in your career, and how have you overcome it?
Opportunities came thick and fast at the beginning of my career. I was a consistent starting player in the England squad. But fast forward four years, and I'd had to work so hard to get back into the squad following some pretty serious injuries.
Any imposter syndrome I might have felt went away because I knew how much work I’d had to put in to get back to that point. I did deserve it. I’d visualise the moment that I’d put on that England shirt again and based my decisions on getting back there, even when it felt far away.
Having to work so hard to get there meant the mindset shift came naturally.
You had a real run of issues with your ACL. How did you cope with potentially career-ending injuries, and did you ever think during that process that you might not be able to do what you loved for a living again?
I ruptured my ACL when I was seventeen, had it reconstructed and always had a little bit of difficulty with it. It’d taken around eighteen months to bounce back from that, but then my knee kept locking. They told me it was a meniscus injury, but during the scan, they actually discovered that I didn’t have any ACL left, which meant I had to have a second reconstruction.
The most difficult thing for me was accepting that sometimes, you do just have a bad run of things.
Obviously, the injuries were really tough, but I learned so much in that process. I wouldn't be half as resilient as I am now if I hadn't had so many injuries.
I wouldn't be half as resilient as I am now if I hadn't had so many injuries.
Statistically, female athletes are funded less, supported less, and given less airtime than their male counterparts. How has this affected your career, and what other adversities have you faced?
Women’s rugby is still very new to professionalism, whereas in the men's game, you get an academy contract when you're eighteen or nineteen and become a full-time professional player. Men have the support from a young age - it’s a big factor.
During COVID, I didn't have a full-time contract. I was working as a coach as a means of doing my rehab and getting my body back to full strength post-injury, but when no rugby was allowed to happen, I couldn’t coach anymore.
I ended up working in Asda to pay the bills. It was undoubtedly the biggest moment of adversity for me in a professional sense, but I had to make sure I was earning enough money to live.
What's one moment that stands out to you as a real highlight, and what did you learn from it?
My biggest career highlight was seeing 58,000 fans at Twickenham for the first time, when we played against France in the final of the Six Nations. I remember thinking, “Oh my gosh, all these people are here for us.”
What did it feel like winning three Premiership women's rugby titles in a row with your team?
It's crazy, really. No one's ever done that in the women's Premiership, so three in a row really is an incredible achievement.
This year was a bit of a whirlwind because they compressed the season to end before the Six Nations for the first time, so it all happened very quickly. Each win was special in its own way, and I appreciate them all for each individual moment.
The most difficult thing for me was accepting that sometimes, you do just have a bad run of things.
Viewing and attendance numbers for women’s sport are up across the board. How do we maintain this interest and continue to grow it for generations to come?
The most important thing is to show people that you have a personality. You see it with Ilona Maher - so many people have jumped on the bandwagon and started watching Sevens purely because she was posting on TikTok a lot throughout the Olympics.
Social media isn't everything, but it is big in allowing people to see who you really are. I think the most important thing is that we do show our personalities because that's what makes people want to buy in and want to invest and just follow your journey.
Do you ever feel like people put you in a box as a female athlete?
Definitely. Women should feel empowered, and I think that when you're in a space like beauty and fashion, you often do, yet in sport, on the pitch, everyone's in the same kit.
Being able to be individual is really important - it's very easy to put people into a box and say, for example, that female rugby players might be masculine. We need to be allowed to show off who we are - that’s what will continue to change how people see women's rugby. We can be fashionable, feminine and multi-faceted.
Do you think your childhood and being part of a big family shaped your determination and strong will today?
Definitely. My Mum always told me I'm really stubborn, but you kind of have to be as the youngest! Being part of a big family has definitely shaped me, and my brother actually inspired me to start playing rugby to begin with. It led me in the right direction, without doubt.
Seeing both young girls and women starting to play rugby when you wouldn't expect them to is really cool.
Tell me a little bit about your style and how you use it for self-expression.
I don't really wear makeup on a game day, but a big one for me is my hair. I put a lot of effort into my hair the day before the match, and also put a lot of thought into what outfits I wear around camp. I love Aligne clothes, and like being able to express myself with my clothes.
Many beauty brands have sponsored or collaborated with major women's sports teams in the past few years. What does your day-to-day beauty regimen look like?
I’m a fan of CeraVe skincare products, Merit makeup up and love Beauty Pie. Clinique products are great, too - they sponsored the PWR (Premiership Women’s Rugby).
My favourite products at the moment are the L'Oreal Lumi Glow, the Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter glow booster, and the Rare Beauty blush. For lips, I’m loving the Raye lip liner and Fenty gloss.
Tell us a little bit about your life outside of the pitch. What are your main hobbies, and how do you love spending your time?
I've got into crochet quite recently - I like to make things that are useful, and it allows me to express my interest in fashion. I’ve started to make clothes, scrunchies and so on - I even made a whole outfit for when I went on holiday. I like reading to switch off, too. I’m currently reading The Salt Path and loving it.
How do you feel you and the team are inspiring the next generation of players? The women's game has evolved massively in the last few years alone, and you've changed the face of the sport.
There are so many young fans coming to our games now, and seeing both young girls and women starting to play rugby and pick up a ball when you wouldn't expect them to is really cool.
It's really exciting. I hope we can continue to showcase what we do and inspire even more people.
What are your ambitions for the World Cup, and do you think England has a good chance of winning?
When it comes to the World Cup, everyone's got a chance. No matter what the rankings are, everybody shows up for that tournament, so you've got to take every day as it comes.
That said, we definitely want to go and win it. As with every tournament, we have full intentions of lifting the trophy, and that’s what we'll go for.
