Rested and refreshed after playing a huge part in England’s World Cup campaign, Sarah Bern is back at Hartpury and looking forward to the rest of the season with Gloucester-Hartpury Women’s RFC.

Sarah was at Hartpury College previously and returns this autumn after a spell with Bristol Ladies. She admitted that it’s great to be back in familiar surroundings as she returns to continue her studies alongside playing rugby in the top flight.

“It’s really good to be back. I know so many people here – lecturers, friends and so many people from the Sports Academy who have been so supportive,” she said. “It’s lovely to see so many familiar faces.”

England’s World Cup campaign fell at the final hurdle, and Sarah admits that it was a bitter pill to swallow although, with the benefit of hindsight, she can look back on it with a degree of pride.

“It’s been pretty hard to be honest,” she said. “It’s been a challenging transition, getting back into university and club life. But it’s great to see all my friends again and to be training with girls who I haven’t seen for a few months. I’ve missed it and it’s good to be back.

“It was hard to take and I don’t think we’ll properly put it behind us until we play our next game. But it was a fantastic match and we have to remember that, and also the legacy that we left behind.

“The amount of people who have come up to us and told us that we’ve inspired them to play rugby is amazing, and that’s really inspiring, to be viewed as role models like that.”

She and the rest of the World Cup participants have been enjoying some well-earned time off. However, she’s kept in touch with how Gloucester-Hartpury have been performing and is excited about the start of the Tyrrells Premier 15s.

“There’s been so much coverage of the league so far which has been great,” she said. “The clubs have all got on board and are pushing out lots of media coverage, the social media has been fantastic.

“For clubs to be treating the games the same way that they do the men’s game is great and can only help to encourage more girls to play the game.”