England star Tatyana Heard proved to be a huge hit when she was the special guest at Cirencester Rugby Club.

The 31-year-old England World Cup winner was at the Whiteway to support a new community event – the CIA Shield – which the organisers, who described the turnout as “amazing”, hope will become an annual celebration of grassroots rugby.

It featured two Cirencester minis matches against Minchinhampton for the under-10s and under-11s before a showcase fixture featuring the Cotswold Lionesses.

The evening was organised by Cirencester Rugby Club and Cirencester-based CIA Fire & Security, who sponsor Heard, and Mark McCormick, operations director at CIA Fire & Security, said: “The CIA Shield was everything we hoped it would be - a fantastic community event, some great rugby on display and a brilliant atmosphere throughout.”

The Cotswold Lionesses beat Tetbury 31-0 and as well as the excellent rugby, the evening also raised £1,592 for Maddy’s Mark.

Maddy’s Mark is 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 and McCormick continued: “We’re absolutely delighted to have raised such a significant amount for Maddy’s Mark, a charity doing truly important work.

“Thank you so much to everyone who supported, attended or donated; especially those who helped behind the scenes. It really was a fantastic effort from everyone involved.”

Maddy’s Mark was set up in Maddy Lawrence's name. It was established 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.