A KIRKBYMOORSIDE woman has spoken of her pride in being called up to the England rugby squad.

Tatyana Heard, whose club is Gloucester-Hartpury, was born in Italy but was raised in Ryedale, attending Kirkbymoorside Primary and Ryedale School. She first picked up a rugby ball aged 11 at Malton and Norton RUFC. She was in the England team against the USA in November, and last week was awarded an England contract.

Tatyana said: “It’s incredible. When I first got called into camp back in the autumn, I never thought that I’d get offered a contract.

“It’s just really exciting, like a dream come true. It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind to be honest, everything’s happened so quickly.”

She added: “Being full-time is going to make a massive difference as there will be so much more available time to get the appropriate training and recovery done. I’m just really excited to see what improvements I can make.”

Rugby runs in the family - Tatyana’s brother Ali plays for Hull RUFC, having also played for England Students and England Counties U20.