England Captain Jones Calls for Fertility Support

Meg Jones, the captain of the England women's rugby union team, is advocating for her teammates to have access to fertility support and the option of egg freezing.

In an interview with BBC Sport, Jones questioned the idea that pursuing a professional sports career should compromise a woman's ability to start a family, stating, "Why should my opportunity to have a family be taken away from me because I want to pursue my career?"

Jones has personally begun her fertility exploration with her fiancée, having already undergone checks to assess their egg count.

The 29-year-old athlete expressed her willingness to be open about her personal journey, discussing her upcoming wedding and family planning with equal ease.

Regarding their plans, Jones shared, "We were looking to freeze, but actually the advice was we don't need to freeze yet so we can probably wait till after the wedding. That's where we were going to look to conceive."

The Red Roses are recognized for having one of the most progressive maternity policies in international women's sports, with two World Cup winners recently becoming mothers and two more expecting.

Responding to inquiries about fertility provisions for England players, a spokesperson for the Rugby Football Union (RFU) stated, "We work hard to support players in the decisions they make around fertility and family planning and are proud to have been at the forefront of industry-leading support in this area."

The spokesperson added, "We already have comprehensive maternity and parental policies in place and are always open to exploring how that support can evolve."

While there isn't a specific policy for financial coverage of fertility treatments for England players, it's understood that the RFU is currently discussing such possibilities, which could be implemented in the future.

Currently, players are entitled to one week of paid leave per treatment cycle for fertility-related appointments and procedures.

Jones first raised the issue of the Red Roses benefiting from such policies on 'The Good, The Scaz & The Rugby' podcast, referencing the Spanish football federation's recent announcement that it would fund egg freezing for its international women's players.

In August, Chelsea Women also announced a partnership with a fertility company to offer workshops, treatments, counseling, and assessments to support their players' fertility needs. Reports indicated that this initiative would cover the cost of egg freezing for the entire squad.

Speaking ahead of England's match against Australia, Jones told BBC Sport, "I wouldn't have thought it was something that we were lacking from maybe a governing point of view, but now I think about it I'm like, yeah, actually, I haven't got that opportunity to go and create a family and be guided on."

She concluded, "It's definitely been flagged with our group. And yeah, again, you learn so much from other teams… And I think the more we can empower women the better for the game as a whole, and better for women in general."