England World Cup winner and Gloucester-Hartpury superstar Tatyana Heard will be the special guest at Cirencester Rugby Club at the beginning of May.

The 31-year-old will be at the Whiteway on Friday 1^st May to support a new community event – the CIA Shield – which organisers hope will become an annual celebration of grassroots rugby.

The evening will begin at 6.30pm with two Cirencester minis matches against Minchinhampton for the under-10s and under-11s. They will be followed by a showcase fixture featuring the Cotswold Lionesses.

The evening has been organised by Cirencester Rugby Club and Cirencester-based CIA Fire & Security, who sponsor Heard.

Alongside promoting girls’ and youth rugby in the area, the CIA Shield will also raise funds for Maddy’s Mark, a charity dedicated to supporting the mental wellbeing of girls and young women as well as funding school programmes to make rugby more accessible to all.

CIA operations director, Mark McCormick, said: “Rugby clubs sit at the heart of their communities and we’re proud to help organise an event that not only celebrates young players, but supports an amazing initiative like Maddy’s Mark.”

Maddy’s Mark is a charity set up in Maddy Lawrence's name. It was set up by her parents, Karen and Mark, following her death at the age of 20 in 2022.

Maddy died from an infection in hospital in Bristol two weeks after dislocating a hip in a University of the West of England rugby match in March 2022.

Anyone wishing to donate to Maddy’s Mark can visit the JustGiving page   https://www.justgiving.com/page/the-cia-shield