England Netball: Eboni Usoro-Brown talks motherhood and sport on Roses return

England Roses beat Jamaica 56-48 in the group stages of the 2019 World Cup in Liverpool

England defender Eboni Usoro-Brown says she "didn't know whether being back in a Roses dress would be an option" after having a baby in August 2020.

Usoro-Brown last featured for the Roses at the 2019 World Cup in Liverpool, where England took the bronze medal.

"You have those doubts as to whether you're going to come back the same," she told BBC Sport. "Can you make it back? Are you going to be as good?"

Now, back in the squad and preparing for a three-match series against Jamaica, she said it is a "dream come true" to return to the Roses programme she has been part of for almost 15 years.

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Usoro-Brown, who has won the Superleague four times with Team Bath, has juggled her bid to get back into the Roses squad with motherhood and her day job as a solicitor.

"Having a baby, becoming a mother and making the decision to put my trainers back on has been really tough," said the 33-year-old.

"I knew I was having a break after the World Cup but my love for the sport and the journey I have been on with the Roses was always something that pulled me back.

"Hopefully that will inspire and show other women and girls that it is possible."

The 2018 Commonwealth Games gold-medal winner is grateful that head coach Jess Thirlby offered her the chance to return to the Roses after a successful 2021 season with Bath, where she helped her side to their first Superleague Grand Final since 2013 just months after giving birth to her daughter.

"Watching the Roses' success in recent times against the Ferns [New Zealand] I wanted to get back involved and contribute and put my best foot forward ahead for this Jamaica series," she said.

"I started training back in August and definitely was at the back but I have worked really hard so when it came to selection and trials I was in a much better place and made the grade, which I'm proud of."

Usoro-Brown announced she will return to Australia to play for Queensland Firebirds for the 2022 season after six years with Bath in the hope that will put her as a front-runner for Commonwealth Games selection for Birmingham 2022.

'We're not just athletes - we're people'

Usoro-Brown said that role models like Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill and Serena Williams have made conversations around fertility and pregnancy while still competing "more commonplace" and not just something to consider after retirement.

"I dream of playing for the Roses again and potentially going to a Commonwealth Games next year," she added. "If you have that ambition and an environment that facilitates you as a mother and as an athlete to fulfil your ambition then anything is possible."

Silver Ferns shooter Ameliaranne Ekenasio remained part of the squad that lost out to England in their September test series despite being pregnant with her second child.

New Zealand head coach Noeline Taurua was keen to have the experience of the World Cup winner around the team and said: "I think it's time for sport in general to look at a different way as to how we treat people. They still want to be involved."

That is an "incredibly important message" says Usoro-Brown. "We're not just athletes, we're people and just because you have one child, two children it doesn't matter - it doesn't mean it's the end of your career."

The former West Coast Fever and Adelaide Thunderbirds player is representing the Roses on that front with her one-year-old daughter and cites prolific Jamaica shooter Jhaniele Fowler, who also has a daughter, as someone who is "still making waves in the international netball scene."

"Netball is a great showcase to have mothers in the sport who are also athletes and still competing against the world's best."

Usoro-Brown, who made her 100th England appearance against Jamaica at the 2019 World Cup, joked that she manages her busy lifestyle with "a lot of coffee, no sleep and a positive outlook!"

"I have been extremely lucky with the parity and the synergy that I have been able to find. I am able to achieve my goals in both spheres without necessarily having to compromise or give anything up," she said.

"It is a balancing act and I thank God I have a supportive mother and husband to try and make that work. It's not always perfect, I won't claim it is, but every day I wake up and try to find a solution and hopefully it will pay off."

England will begin their three-match Vitality Roses Reunited series against Jamaica at a sold-out Copper Box Arena in London on Sunday.