 Gallagher at the 2022 Commonwealth Games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 22 August 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Stirling, Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 79 kg (174 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Evie Gallagher (born 22 August 2000) is a Scottish rugby player from Stirling who made her debut as an international player in the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship at the age of 20. [1]
Gallagher played for Stirling County, her local team, which she has played for since she joined the minis at the club. Her club coach, Al Wilson, says of the player, "Evie is a natural athlete. When she played in the minis at the club, she played on the wing because she was so quick with her step. In the under-15 team, she played mainly at centre before the transition started to the back-row when she was in the under-18s." [1]
Through Stirling County under-18s team, she celebrated two back-to-back victories in Girls Club Cup Finals at BT Murrayfield Stadium in 2017 and 2018, with Gallagher scoring in the second encounter. [2]
Gallagher then played for the University of Edinburgh for two seasons. [3] She was among the winning team that beat Northumbria in the BUCS Women's Championship Final of 2018. [4] They also won the Scottish Varsity match against St Andrews in 2018 with a score of 49–0. During the match, Gallagher scored a hat-trick of tries. [4]
After finishing her studies, Gallagher returned to Stirling County to continue playing for the local club. [5] She was one of two Stirling County players selected for the Scottish team in the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship - the other being Megan Kennedy. [6]
In 2022 Gallagher was signed by Worcester Warriors. After Worcester left the Women's Premiership in 2023, Gallagher was signed to play for Bristol Bears [7]
Gallagher has represented Scotland at U18 7s and Scotland U19 level. [4]
Gallagher featured in the Scotland 7s team that was victorious after winning all eight games at the 2018 Amsterdam 7s under coach Scott Forrest. [4]
Under Forrest, she went on to play for the Rugby Europe Grand Prix two-day event in Marcoussis, Paris. She says of the experience, "It was scary at first out there because the speed and level was like nothing I had been part of before, but then I just started to enjoy it and as a squad I think we settled into things a bit on the second day." [4]
In the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship, Scotland Coach Bryan Easson named Gallagher among the Scotland squad to play in back-row. He said of his decision to include Gallagher, "Evie Gallagher used to play in the midfield when she was younger. I say younger she is only 20 now! She has good distribution and is an exciting prospect." [1]
She made her Six Nations debut after coming off the bench against England at half-time. [8] She then made her first start in the game against Italy, replacing Rachel Malcolm in the back row. [9] She then scored her first international try in Scotland's closing match against Wales, which they won 27–20. [10]
Growing up, Gallagher took part in a number of sports including basketball, eventing and horse riding. [4] Gallagher, a former student of Stirling High School, first started playing rugby through attending mini rugby sessions with her local club, Stirling County, alongside boys her age. She says of the experience, "Playing with and against the boys at a young age is what made the difference for me because they were really competitive and it made me competitive." [4] Her mother first introduced her to the game through sports-based summer camps, which was when she discovered a passion for the game. [5]
She studied ecological and environmental science at the University of Edinburgh and is currently studying towards an HND in Animal Care at Scotland's Rural College (SRUC). [4]
Joanne Yapp is an English rugby union coach and former player. She represented England at the 1998 and 2002 Rugby World Cups, and captained the side at the 2006 World Cup. She was appointed as the Wallaroos first female Head Coach at the end of 2023.
Alexandra George Matthews is an English rugby union player. She made her debut for England in 2011 and was a member of the winning 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup squad.
Chloe Rollie is a Scottish international rugby union footballer who currently plays as a full-back for Exeter Chiefs Women in the Premier 15s, as well as the Scottish national team.
Sarah Alison McKenna is an English rugby union and rugby sevens player. She is a member of the England Women's Rugby Team and plays for Saracens Women's at club level.
Alisha Joyce-Butchers is a Welsh rugby union player who plays flanker for Bristol Bears Women and the Wales women's national rugby union team. She made her debut for the Wales rugby union team in 2016 and has played in 29 matches for the national side. Butchers scored her first international try in 2016 in a Women's Six Nations Championship victory over Scotland. She works as an Active Young People Officer and a Girls' Hub Officer while continuing her rugby career.
Sarah Law is a former Scottish rugby player from Penicuik, near Edinburgh. She played for Scotland and represented them over fifty times internationally, including at the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship. Law was the fourth Scottish woman to receive a professional rugby contract from Scotland. She kicked the match-winning penalty in the win against Wales in the 2017 Women's Six Nations Championship to beat the opposing team for the first time in seven years. She repeated the feat under even more pressurised circumstances in 2021 when her 82nd minute conversion of a Chloe Rollie try put Scotland through to the qualification final for the Rugby World Cup at the expense of their opponents Ireland.
Jenny Maxwell is a Scottish professional rugby union player, who plays for Scotland Women. She was one of the team for the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship. She jointly holds the record for the most Scotland Women's 7s caps and has over 30 caps for XVs.
Lisa Thomson is a Scottish rugby union player, who captained for Scotland Women in 2018–19. She plays for Scotland and was vice-captain for the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.
Siobhan Cattigan was a Scottish rugby union player. She represented Scotland in international rugby from 2018 until her death in 2021.
Lana Skeldon is a Scottish professional rugby player from Hawick. She has played in multiple Women's Six Nations Championships, including the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.
Megan Gaffney is a former Scottish rugby union player. She is from Edinburgh and has competed internationally for Scotland since 2011. She has twice been selected for the Great Britain 7s training squad for the Rio and Tokyo Olympics. She retired from international rugby at the end of 2022.
Katie Dougan is a Scottish rugby player from Fort William who has played in multiple Women's Six Nations Championships, including the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.
Liz Musgrove is a Scottish rugby player from Edinburgh who has played in multiple Women's Six Nations Championships, including the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship, despite only taking up the sport at the age of 20. She is also a Junior British Judo Champion.
Nicola Howat is a Scottish rugby player from Edinburgh who has played in multiple Women's Six Nations Championships, including the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.
Rachel Shankland is a Scottish rugby union player from Cumnock who has played for the Scottish Women's team since 2020, including in the 2020 Women's Six Nations and 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.
Evie Tonkin is an English rugby player from Keswick who has played for the Scottish Women's team since 2019, and was named in the squad for the 2020 and 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.
Shona Campbell is a Scottish rugby player from Dundee who was selected for the Scotland Women's Six Nations squad in the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship. She is also a touch rugby Gold Medallist for the Scottish team and has played netball for Scotland under 21s.
Evie Wills is a Scottish rugby player from Stirling. She first played for the side in the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.
Stirling University RFC is a rugby union club based in Stirling, Scotland. The club operates a men's team and a women's team. Both currently play in the university leagues.
Alex Callender is a Welsh rugby union player who plays back row for the Brython Thunder team and the Wales women's national rugby union team. She won her first international cap against France in the 2019 Women's Six Nations Championship.
