This week I'm joined by Becky Jones, otherwise known as the Empower Coach, and honestly this conversation went places I didn't expect.

Becky is an anti-diet coach who helps women break free from diet culture and unrealistic beauty standards. She grew up being bullied in a small Yorkshire village, developed a disordered relationship with food at 12 years old, and spent her 20s fighting the messaging that her body needed to look a certain way to be accepted. Now in her 40s, she's turned that into a career calling out the systems that caused it in the first place.

We ended up talking about a lot more than food. We talked about what happened when my team won our league this season and got almost zero recognition from our club. We talked about being labelled "difficult" and "hysterical" when you ask for things that are completely reasonable. We talked about how women in sport are still being made to feel lucky just to be there, and what you can actually do when you're tired of beating your head against a brick wall.

In this episode we cover:

• Growing up in 90s diet culture and how it shaped us both

• Why "skinny talk" is making a comeback and why that matters

• The lack of recognition for women's grassroots rugby (and why 5,000 people clearly agreed)

• How to find your voice and set boundaries without blowing everything up

• Non-violent communication as an actual practical tool for dealing with institutions

• Why BMI is basically useless for rugby players

• The patriarchal systems behind diet culture and why Becky isn't shutting up about them

• And why community, not comparison, is what actually changes things

This one is for the women who've been told they're too much. You're not too much. The room is just too small.

At 39 I genuinely believed I had no business playing rugby anymore. So I hung up my boots, missed an entire season, and told myself that was just what happened when you got older. Spoiler: I was completely wrong.

In this episode I am shooting from the hip and sharing the five things that took me from retirement to county trials at 43. Not theory. Not things I read in a book. The actual stuff I did, the mindset shifts I made, and the honest truth about what was holding me back in the first place.

We talk about why I finally invested in a coach and what that actually changed, what structured strength training has done to my body and my confidence on the pitch, why I used to treat rest days like failure and why that was costing me more than I realised, how I simplified my nutrition after years of overcomplicating it, and the one thing that was quietly killing my enjoyment of the sport I love.

If you are a woman in your 30s or 40s who is starting to wonder whether your best rugby is behind you, this episode is for you. I promise it is not.

The Peerless Pack opens Monday 1 June. If anything in this episode lands for you, come and find me at @laurapeerlesscoaching on Instagram or drop me an email at [email protected] I would love to have you in the Pack. If you’re ready to take action then apply here https://forms.gle/JwvgHttK7GLHzHAq6

I’m going to be honest with you. The last few weeks have been a lot. Socialising, eating on the fly, poor sleep, and a body that was absolutely cooked after our cup final. I intentionally took a week off the gym because I knew I needed it. But the other stuff? That crept in and I can feel it.

So this week I’m doing what I tell my clients to do when things have slipped. I’m going back to my Tight 5.

These are the five foundations I come back to every single time life gets messy. Not an overhaul, not a punishment, not a dramatic detox. Just five simple things done consistently that keep me feeling good, performing better and staying sane. Named after the front row and second row of the scrum, the players that provide a strong, stable platform to keep everything safe, secure and moving forward. That’s exactly what these five things do for you.

In this episode I’m walking you through all five. Protein and plants at every meal, hydration habits that actually work, why daily movement is not the same as training, why sleep might be undermining everything else you’re doing, and the mindset shift that holds all four together.

I’m doing this reset alongside you this week. Not above you, with you.

And if by the end of this you want to do it inside a community of women who genuinely get it, the Peerless Pack is back and we start on the 1st of June. Five early bird spaces available. Link to the app form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeeds7rXSJY0zef0ZpQXPYZS5igR5UEWvanz6tt16eJRVN_nQ/viewform

Come find us.

This week I’m getting something off my chest. I’m part of the most successful team at my club, league winners, National Plate winners, three-time County Cup holders yet when we won the league last weekend, nobody from the board came to watch and there was nothing on the club’s social media. Not a word. In this episode I’m talking about what that feels like, why I think silence is compliance, and what real allyship actually looks like in the grassroots game. This isn’t a rant, it’s a rallying cry. And I’d love to know if any of it resonates with you.

We won the league. 13 seasons in the making, two near-misses, one absolutely rank mud bath, and a day trip to Guernsey that cost more than a week away and we finally did it.

In this episode I’m unpacking what winning the league with Seaford Scarlets actually taught me about goal-chasing not the glossy version, the real one. Because it wasn’t one game or one season that got us here. It was the boring stuff. The uncomfortable stuff. The stuff nobody sees.

I’m sharing my five takeaways from the season and how every single one of them applies whether you’re chasing a performance goal, trying to shift your body composition, or just trying to show up consistently when life is being a nightmare.

We cover:

— Why you’re basically winging it without a proper plan

— Getting comfortable being uncomfortable (and why it’s non-negotiable)

— The danger of the “one big moment” myth

— Why community will always beat going it alone

— What happens after you hit the goal (this is where most people go wrong)

If you’ve been waiting for a sign to stop messing about and actually go for it this is it.

DM me PACK on Instagram @laurapeerlesscoaching if you want to know more about the Peerless Pack, or drop me an email at [email protected] if you’ve got 1:1 coaching on your mind.

She’s Gotta Try. Let’s go.

I’m 14 seasons deep, a qualified nutritionist, mid-way through my gym instructor exams, and feeling the strongest and fittest I’ve ever felt. But it wasn’t always like this. In this episode, I’m fessing up on some of the genuinely daft things I used to do in the name of “health” from 5am HIIT sessions on an empty stomach to kebab-shop pre-game meals and full-blown meltdowns when my pre-match routine went sideways. If you’ve ever obsessed over the scales, winged it nutritionally, burnt the candle at both ends, or told yourself you’ve “ruined everything” because one thing didn’t go to plan, this one’s for you. Five points. Five hard lessons. One older teammate who made all the mistakes so you don’t have to.

I went to county trials for the first time ever. I didn’t get picked. And honestly? It was one of the best things I’ve done in a long time.

In this episode, I’m reflecting on what it actually meant to put myself in that room surrounded by some of the best women’s rugby players in Sussex and what I took away from the experience beyond the result. Because if you only measure success by whether you got selected, you’re missing the point.

I’m talking through five things that county trials reminded me about performance, mindset, and showing up as yourself: why the only person you really need to prove anything to is you, how positive feedback can genuinely change the trajectory of your game, why having fun is a legitimate performance strategy, what being authentic actually looks like when the pressure is on, and how to reframe a disappointment into your next move.

There’s also a bit about my nickname (it’s Minge, and yes, there’s an explanation), why I went to trials with my hair down, and what I did the moment I found out I hadn’t made the squad.

If you’ve ever been knocked back, missed out on selection, or just found yourself questioning whether you’re good enough this one’s for you.

I went to County trials at 43 and absolutely showed up and this episode is all about that energy. Whether you’ve got two games left or you’re playing into June, this one’s for you.

I break down her Tight5 Method — the five non-negotiables that underpin everything she does with her clients and maps out exactly how to layer up from there, from strength training structure to the supplements actually worth your money. No fluff, no fancy stuff. Just the bread and butter that keeps you stepping over that white line feeling strong, fuelled, and ready.

If you’ve ever thought “I know what I should be doing, I just don’t do it” Laura’s got something to say about that too.

I’m writing this one with a hot water bottle strapped to my waist and a lot of feelings about cookie cutter fitness advice. This week I’m talking periods — specifically why the cycle-syncing trend sweeping social media right now doesn’t translate to rugby players who have games, training sessions, and real life getting in the way. I cover what’s actually happening hormonally across your cycle, why your symptoms are completely different to the woman next to you in the changing room, and five genuinely practical tips for managing training and nutrition around your period without following a plan that wasn’t built for you. Honest, straight talking, and a little bit sweary. Just like rugby.

In this episode of The Five Points Podcast, I take a trip down memory lane after redisiting a photo from my first (and only) half marathon—10 years on.

What started as a goal to “just get round” turned into a sub-2-hour finish… but more importantly, it became a turning point in how I viewed myself, my training, and what my body was actually capable of.

I share the messy reality behind that race—from injury setbacks and under-fuelling, to learning how to train with purpose, fuel properly, and commit to a process (not perfection). It was the moment I stopped dabbling and started taking my performance—and rugby—seriously.

This episode is about more than running. It’s about identity, confidence, and the shift from “I’m not really that person” to fully owning what you do.

If you’ve ever felt like a fraud in your training, struggled with consistency, or felt stuck in that cycle of doing just enough but never quite progressing—this one’s for you.

I also share why this experience shaped the coach I am today, and how it led to creating the support I wish I had back then.