Gloucester-Hartpury Women have announced that one of the legends of the women’s game, Heather Fisher, has joined the club on a short-term contract.

An England regular in both the 7s and 15s formats of the game, Birmingham-born Fisher has joined Gloucester-Hartpury having recently announced that she will be taking a break from the international game, and will provide real experience and knowhow to the club’s Tyrrells Premier 15s efforts.

First capped in 2009 for England, her international career has included being a member of the 2010 and 2014 Rugby World Cup squads, helping the squad to lift the trophy in the latter tournament in France.

She represented Great Britain at Sevens at the 2016 Olympics in Rio and won a bronze medal with England 7s at the 2017 Commonwealth Games.

Fisher is still a quality performer and her presence will benefit the whole of the Gloucester-Hartpury squad according to head coach Susie Appleby.

“When I heard that Heather was available, even for a short period, I didn’t hesitate to get in touch,” said Appleby. “She’s been a fantastic player at the highest level for a long time and a superb ambassador for the game.

“Heather will bring so much to the group. The experience she has gained is something that will be so beneficial to the younger members of our squad in particular. And she’s still performing at the peak of her powers, she will be a real asset for us.”

And Fisher explained what had attracted her to link up with Gloucester-Hartpury.

“I think everyone’s aware that I’ve taken a few months out of the game just to get my physical and mental state back to where it needed to be to get back to international level,” she said.

“I came here to Hartpury to do commentary last weekend, and I realised that I missed that team environment. I watched them playing and I thought to myself that I could see myself playing a few games.

“Part of the love for playing rugby is playing with your mates. I know the likes of Kelly Smith and Millie Wood from Sevens, and a few of the Welshies and some girls who used to play for Worcester.

“I watched them last weekend and they play with a bit of dog, they don’t give up, they keep going right until the very end, I like the style they play. I left thinking ‘Could I play?’ You know what, let’s just see what happens.”