Heard, who has 36 international caps, is one of Gloucester-Hartpury’s longest-serving players, and has been a key cog in their trio of PWR title wins in the past three years.

In June, Heard signed a new deal to extend her stay with the club she joined in 2017.

She made her England debut in 2018 and was part of the side that reached the World Cup final in 2021 before winning the Six Nations in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

While Heard said she “loved every moment” of playing in a home World Cup this summer, she believed she did not play at her best, despite putting pressure on herself to do so.

“I wouldn’t say that I performed at my best in the World Cup, so to come away from it and wonder why I put that pressure on to not get the outcome I necessarily wanted in terms of performance is an interesting one,” she said.

“We still won a medal and the performance doesn’t really matter at the end of the day, nobody cares who played well in the final as long as you come out with the medal.”

Heard added that the realisation has shifted her perspective.

“I’ve been saying to the girls I’ve never felt more free in my life,” she said.

“It’s pretty fun, playing a bit of rugby and actually feeling quite calm about it. So I’m enjoying myself at the moment.”