Answering John Mitchell’s question: Bryony Field on her England breakthrough

Driving home from training a couple of weeks ago, after learning that she had been selected to play for England for the first time, Bryony Field’s mind was understandably all over the place when she ended up in a relatable situation.

“I actually crashed my car on the way home,” Field explains. “Obviously I was buzzing, and my mind was a little bit aloof. And on the M25 I rammed into the back of someone. I got home from camp that day and I thought, ‘what on earth has just happened?’”

It should be stressed that no one was hurt. Well, apart from Field’s car, now set for a date with the garage next week. “Yeah, not great. She’s definitely been better.”

There must surely have been some temptation, I ask, to casually mention to the unfortunate person whose car she went into that the reason she had been distracted was due to having received that momentous news that she was about to represent her country for the first time. Instead, Field kept it under wraps. “He was a lawyer, so I was like, ‘I’ve got no chance here’.”

Field’s two caps so far have not been quite as dramatic, and also promising. The hooker has scored two tries in two appearances finishing off a couple of rolling mauls in the win over Australia and draw with Canada.

Now 25, Field has had to bide her time for this moment. Born in Yorkshire, she grew up playing for Huddersfield RUFC and then at West Park Leeds. The latter may sound familiar given it helped to produce Zoe Stratford, Ellie Kildunne, Morwenna Talling and Tatyana Heard.

Field represented England at U18 and U20 level, playing at Loughborough for Lightning. But a move south to Saracens and away from university was pivotal, after graduating with a masters in civil engineering. It forced Field to balance her day job working in a bank with the training required to become a top professional.

“There was definitely a period of time where I felt like I’d hit a bit of a standstill, which was tough to navigate,” she admitted.

An unfortunate knee injury to her Saracens team-mate May Campbell opened the door last season for Field to start more regularly. It went well. Saracens won the Premiership Women’s Rugby title and by August, Field was in the wider England training squad.

“She’s a beautiful character. I just find her vibrant,” John Mitchell, the England head coach, said about Field after her debut. “I’ve been watching Bryony for a while and all I’ve asked her is ‘at some point when are you going to decide to become the best hooker in the country?’. She seemed to excel with starting rugby [when Campbell was out]. She blossomed.”

Making her debut up north in Manchester – although not quite in Yorkshire – meant a lot to Field. Growing up, she found it difficult to find a club in Yorkshire that could pull together a full girl’s team each week. The interest elsewhere in rugby league means fewer options and more players slipping through the cracks due to the longer travel times. “It’s such a shame,” she said.

A group from the girls team at Huddersfield RUFC travelled to Sale’s CorpAcq Stadium to watch Field’s debut, posing for photos with her afterwards. One girl who Field used to babysit had been “in and out of rugby” but has now taken it back up again due to the progress of the girls’ team at Huddersfield.

Field would love to see a PWR side in Yorkshire at some point. “To play for a club actually representing Yorkshire would be pretty sick.”

Credit to Field for how settled she has looked in those two caps so far, showing a real appetite for work. No England player made more tackles in the draw with Canada than Field with 19.

Being a new player in such a successful environment cannot be easy, and naturally Field admits there were some nerves. But she was also ready for it.

“It’s something that I’ve had my heart set on for a while and to be honest, I did back myself coming into the environment. I knew that if I put my mind to it, physically, I can keep up with what’s gonna be thrown at me.”

That next challenge is a date with the Black Ferns at Allianz Stadium. Field has watched several games there from the stands, and recalls a conversation with her dad while watching England take on Ireland during the Guinness Women’s Six Nations a few years ago. The kind of remark you can file under the ‘perfect parenting’ category.

“We had some pretty good tickets pitchside. I remember being with dad and he was like, ‘Oh, you know, it would be amazing if that was you on that pitch one day’. And then he was like, ‘But you know, even if you don’t, I’m so proud of you.’”

On Saturday when Field runs out to play for England at Twickenham for the first time, Jason Field will be the proudest parent for miles.

That occasion, playing in front of tens of thousands of supporters, does not seem to faze her whatsoever.

“I am excited for the crowd to be honest. I think it’s something that a lot of people associate as quite nerve-wracking, but I do actually love having a big crowd. I think it really feeds your energy, running into collisions or if you have just managed to land a decent shot and you can hear the crowd behind you.”

You can see why Mitchell likes her. The challenge he set Field, to make the England No. 2 shirt her own, has been answered. Now to see where the road takes her. Ideally not into the back of more cars.