The Berkshire mum looking to encourage others into rugby

The co-founder of a rugby club for women who have had children said the sport is ideal for new mums who want to stay active.

Annette Bevan, a mum-of-two who currently plays for Reading Abbey RFC, is one of the coordinators of the Maa Maas club.

It has about 920 mums following its Facebook page and about 150 signed up to play matches, with one set to take place in Newcastle in April.

“You have to carve out that time for yourself,” she said of new mums. “You have to go and do something you enjoy, whether it’s rugby or another hobby or interest.

“I think you come back to your kids and your family a better mum having made that space for yourself.”

Bevan said England star and mum Abbie Ward was an inspiration after the country’s World Cup win in September.

Ward carried her daughter Hallie around the Twickenham pitch after the win against Canada.

“Mums all over the world, we’ve formed a little bit of a community,” Bevan said. “Everyone’s so helpful.

“They just want to help each other, give each other advice, share their experiences and we are united by the fact that we’ve all gone through childbirth, through pregnancy and we all want to come back and remain active.”

“I want to continue to inspire. I want to connect with other mums on my platform and even if you’re not a mum, I want to start to get women into rugby.

“This is a brilliant time to try our sport. It really is one of the best communities you could be a part of.”

The former Henley and Bracknell player, who has also turned out for Ireland, said: “The community game is where my heart is at. I always knew I wanted to carry on playing rugby after having kids.

“It’s such a big passion of mine. I think there’s always that unknown as to whether you will get back to do that physical activity.

“But showing my kids that I can continue to be physically active and can continue to do something I really love is really important to me.”

Having started her postpartumrugbymum Instagram page four years ago, she said some clubs had made “great strides” in making facilities more accessible, such as introducing breastfeeding spaces and changing tables in toilets.

“You’d think it’s something small but a lot of clubs are still behind the times with that. It’s about breaking those barriers and making sure spaces are available for mums,” she added.