Muir’s a driving force
The first time Maud Muir came on in the England front row it was off the bench against New Zealand in the 2021 autumn internationals and the scrum immediately won a penalty.
The Gloucester-Hartpury prop has that kind of impact; her strength, determination and winning mentality are part of the forward foundation that the Red Roses rely on.
That strength is something she hopes will help young girls realise that they can be confident in their bodies, that “it’s OK to be a bit bigger when it makes you stronger.”
Maud began playing rugby at five as the only girl in her team at Oxford Harlequins, sporting a bright pink scrum cap and storming through the opposition. She moved to Gosford All Blacks, represented the South West at age grade level and moved to the Wasps' Centre of Excellence before joining their senior team. Awarded a Brunel Sports Scholarship, she trained as a professional athlete while studying for a sports science degree.
Now 23, Muir has 30 England caps and has been a pivotal player in back-to-back Grand Slams and the Red Roses title-winning campaign at the inaugural WXV1 tournament in New Zealand.
Moving from Wasps to Gloucester-Hartpury in the summer of 2022, she’s having a great time at the club with successive Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby titles.
She loves her time in camp with England too, where her cricket skills come in handy in impromptu matches. She says the Red Roses' Grand Slam victory over France in front of a record crowd at Twickenham was “incredible. Seeing the crowds on our way in, so many people cheering us, is really exciting for the future.
“I’ve always enjoyed coaching younger players. Coaching at Maidenhead we started with a couple of girls and grew a team. I’ve loved being BUCS scrum coach and coached in between Six Nations matches and the girls won the BUCS Super League.”
Easily bored, she will try her hand at anything creative, filming and editing clips in camp and her cupboards are full of her hand-painted pottery. But it’s the potential for women’s rugby that really excites her, the 2025 World Cup on home soil and a first-ever 2027 women’s Lions tour planned for 2027.
“Representing the Lions would be incredible. I watched the Lions tours growing up when I didn’t even know that there was an England women’s team but just loved playing. A women’s Lions tour is certainly a step in the right direction, makes everyone want to work harder so, hopefully, the game continues to improve. The coolest thing would be playing alongside people from other nations. I love playing at Gloucester-Hartpury because we’ve got all of the Welsh and Irish players and players from other nations too. To be with the best in that Lions team would be incredible.”
For young players she says the most important aspect is: “having fun, you can’t play well if you’re not enjoying yourself. Making relationships with teammates and coaches, enjoying your time when you’re younger when it isn’t quite as serious yet, really helps you to develop.
“I’m playing the sport that I love with my best friends which helps when dealing with the pressure of matches.”
Muir, who’s also capable of covering loosehead or hooker, is becoming a tighthead cornerstone for the Red Roses.
“I want to be one of the best tightheads in the world, the best that I can be. It’s great to be able to play both loosehead and tighthead, and hooker if needed, but you can’t be the best prop in the world, the best scrummaging prop, or as dominant as possible without focusing on one position.
“When I was younger, I just pushed. Now I’ve got more detail, I’m thinking about various angles and pressure. But sometimes you just need to not overthink and put your head down and drive.”
