Nicola Davies didn’t want to go to a slimming club after becoming a mum for a second time… so she took up rugby instead!

That was 12 years ago and it’s clearly a decision she doesn’t regret because the 48-year-old is still playing rugby today.

“It was a better offer,” she told The Local Answer with a laugh.

“Some of the new mums were going to slimming clubs, rugby was my way of not going.

“My daughter was at nursery at the time and one of the other mums said there was an open session for ladies at Dursley Rugby Club.

“I went along and I loved it from the first minute.”

So much so that she remains a cornerstone of the team today, a team that have their sights set on the National Challenge 2 South West (North) title this season.

“There were only about 10 of us at that first session and some of us didn’t have a clue what we were doing, I’d never even played touch rugby,” recalled Davies, who lives in Uley with husband Will and children Eve, 15, and Huw, 12.

“But I loved it because it was so physical and we had such a laugh.

“Of all team sports I think rugby has the biggest mix of people. It has the biggest mix of age groups and abilities; it takes all sorts.

“We’re like family, we support each other on and off the pitch.”

They certainly do and Dursley currently have around 40 ladies registered and some 30 of those are actively playing.”

So what position does Davies, who has won more than 50 league caps, play?

“I started off in the second row because nobody else wanted to play there,” she said. “I’m 5ft 4ins so I’m small for a lock.

“Then about three or four years ago I got pushed into the front row because we needed another prop!”

She can play on either side but prefers tighthead.

“I like to be locked in,” she explained. “It was why I liked being in the second row, I feel stronger.”

Davies is very easy to interview, clearly loves her rugby and enjoys seeing others enjoy the sport too.

And while she may not score as many tries as some of her team-mates, particularly those playing in the backs, she says that playing in the forwards has its advantages.

“We’re a special breed in the front row,” she said with another laugh. “Plus I’m not quick enough to be a back so I have to keep eating to maintain my weight and my position!”

And she is certainly pulling her weight at Dursley Rugby Club where she has been on the committee almost from the start.

“The club president John Darlaston has always been a big promoter of the women’s team being equal to the men’s teams,” she said.

“As soon as we got established we had women on the committee and now have a women’s player, Kath Tole, who was previously chair of the women’s section for 10 years, as an honorary vice-president.

“The men back us all the way. They come and watch us, we watch them and we have joint social events.”

Those joint social events don’t extend to end-of-season tours, though.

“No, we don’t do that,” said Davies laughing. “The ladies have been to Barcelona for the past seven years for a 10s tournament.

“We’ve won it once and we were joint winners this year.

“We also won the Spirit of Rugby award in 2019, an award that is given to the team that best embodies the rugby spirit and values.”

That’s quite a few trophies that Dursley have won in the Catalan capital over the past few years and Davies had to create some extra space in her suitcase for the flight home this year because she was also presented with an individual award.

“I got the Gold Super Woman award,” she said. “I don’t know what I got it for, I thought originally it was because I was the oldest person playing but then I found out there was someone older than me.”

Her team-mates and those close to her will have a good idea why she won it and it was surely deserved because rugby – and the front row in particular – is not a place for the faint-hearted.

“I’ve had cuts and bruises, a broken wrist, knee injuries,” said Davies, who moved to this part of the world in 2000.

So what does her husband, who plays golf at Stinchcombe Hill, say when she walks – or hobbles – home after a game.

“He shakes his head, wonders how we’re going to cope with the kids and asks if I’m insured,” Davies said.

Happily, Davies, who hails from Wrexham and is a big football fan, is insured, although that may not need to be the case for too much longer.

“The aim is to develop more young players so that I’m not picked anymore," she said. “Then when they stop needing me I’ll enjoy supporting them all from the sidelines instead.”