As a child growing up in a small Welsh village, I never fully appreciated the depth of love and pride my community had for rugby. The local rugby club was the beating heart of social life; it seemed as if every celebration or gathering was held there – from weddings to birthdays and even funerals. My grandmother, Nan George, was a longstanding member of the rugby club. For as long as I can remember, she worked behind the bar and watched over all of the kids as we ran around the clubrooms or the rugby fields.

I remember how all the men of the village would disappear for whole weekends during the Five Nations when Wales was scheduled to play away from home. But the weekends I remember most vividly were the weekends Wales played at Cardiff Arms Park. The club would be packed with a sea of red scarves, hats and jerseys. The TV was always too loud, but even that was drowned out whenever Wales scored a try – especially if it was against England. I will always be grateful for the gift of growing up in a place where rugby was more than just a sport – it was a way of life.

I was fortunate enough to attend six world championships in two different sports, representing two different countries. Netball was my first love, which took me to Australia to the U21 World Netball Championship. I went on to represent the full Welsh team as vice-captain at the 1991 Netball World Cup as a 22-year-old. In the same year - 1991 - I completed my Human Movement Honours Degree and represented Wales in the RWC1991 in Cardiff.

It was only after moving to London, finding my tribe at Wasps Ladies, and playing for the England Women’s rugby team that I realised I was nowhere near fulfilling my potential yet. Wearing the England jersey and later being appointed as Captain – an honour beyond my wildest dreams – I found purpose and drive. It was a place where I belonged. I played in a total of four Rugby World Cups and somewhere in my basement I have a gold, a silver and a bronze medal, but in my head, I carry a thousand golden memories.

I finally retired from playing rugby 24 years after that first test for Wales. I fell madly in love and moved to that other rugby-mad country – New Zealand. Over time I retrained as a photographer and videographer and spent several years working as the behind-the-scenes content creator for the All Blacks. It was a privilege to travel and work closely with the players and the staff, creating, writing and publishing content for all the NZRU’s social platforms – Facebook, Instagram, AllBlacks.com and Twitter.

Since then, Jo and I have built our bespoke company to tell stories through photography, video and the written word, co-authoring several books along the way. Surviving cancer five years ago has given me a new hunger for life. I now juggle being a mum to our twins with managing the scholarship programme for talented teenage female athletes for The Tania Dalton Foundation.

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