Sarah Bern: England prop back after year out with injury

Bern training with the England squad ahead of the match against New Zealand

Sarah Bern is relishing being back in the England squad for Sunday's match against world champions New Zealand after almost a year out.

The Bristol Bears prop, 24, has not played for the Red Roses since last November because of a shoulder injury.

Bern missed this year's Six Nations to have surgery and returned to action with Bristol in September, starting all five of their Premier 15s wins so far.

"It means so much," she told BBC Points West.

"For me, the main thing is just enjoying it and being back with the girls. I missed them all so much, and all the staff as well.

"I've really enjoyed just being back in the mix and playing some rugby again, as you say it's been such a long time, I'm just trying to enjoy every second."

Since making her debut for England aged 18, tighthead prop Bern has been one of England's stand-out performers, earning 36 international caps.

She started all of England's matches during their victorious 2017, 2019 and 2020 Six Nations campaigns. At the 2017 World Cup, Bern scored a try in the semi-final victory over France, when she was the youngest player in the England squad.

Despite saying her shoulder now feels "twice as strong" Bern admitted that spending most of the past year on the sidelines has been tough.

"Anyone who's had quite a significant injury or an injury that happens multiple times it is tough, it's really, really hard especially after a year of Covid at the same time," Bern said.

"That back to back was quite challenging for me. But I've had an absolutely amazing medical team and even all the staff here and all the girls supported me massively.

"When they were in the Six Nations last year, I was playing Xbox with all the girls, so I felt like I was in the room with them. It's definitely a challenge, I think anyone would say that, but I'm loving every second now."

Performance management

With the World Cup in New Zealand pushed back a year to October 2022 , Bern is hoping to cement a place again in the England squad.

For Bern, the time away from rugby has been a learning process though, particularly when it comes to dealing with recovery and managing her body to prevent further injuries.

"Every athlete wants to give 100% all of the time, but unfortunately your body can't run at 100% all of the time because it starts to break down. So for me, it's a bit of a learning, picking and choosing, OK what can I go 80% on, what can I go 100% on, how do I get my recovery right.

"When you're a really young athlete and you're in a high-performance environment, you don't always get told that straight away. Until you actually do it, you're like yeah, yeah I'll be fine, I'll bounce back.

"It's definitely been a learning curve and hopefully I'm through the other side now."

Bern returned to action this season for Bristol Bears in the Premier 15s opener against Exeter

Apart from a year away playing for Gloucester Hartpury, Bern has been a staple of the Bristol team since joining in 2016. Yet having now cemented her position as a prop, it's hard to believe that Bern began her career in the back row, initially playing there for Bristol and the England U20 team.

She made the switch ahead of the 2017 World Cup after talking to then England forwards coach Matt Ferguson.

"He sold it to me as you can still be the player that you are, but you can learn a new skill. I'm always trying to ask questions, trying to learn more so I was like, 'I'll give it a go, see how it works'. Hopefully I'm doing all right," she said.

As a former back-rower, Bern's dynamism as a prop is evident in her playing style - she's scored nine Six Nations tries since 2017 for England alone, and nine in the past three years for Bristol Bears.

Bern might have put her own stamp on the position, but she says she's just playing the best she can.

"I always said, 'Who'd you want to be when you grow up?' and there was obviously players I wanted to aspire to be like. I had Maggie Alphonsi, Danielle Waterman, Alex Matthews, they were all quite local to me.

"But actually, the most important thing is try and be yourself. Be your own player, be the best that you can be and then put it into that position and the role that you're meant to fit into on the pitch.

"That's the most valuable thing for me, make sure you excel and make sure you're doing that role that you need to do."