| Birth name | Jade Phillips | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 16 February 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Llanelli, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Ysgol y Strade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Swansea University King's College London | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Midwife | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Jade Knight ( née Phillips; born 16 February 1989) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays for Saracens Women of the Premier 15s and the Wales women's national rugby union team. She earned her first international cap for Wales in a 2018 Women's Six Nations Championship and she has also played for Richmond Women in the Women's Premiership. Knight works as a midwife while continuing her rugby career.
Knight's birth was on 16 February 1989, [1] and grew up in Llanelli. [2] Her uncle is the Welsh 52-time capped international rugby union player Mark Taylor. [3] She plays rugby in the scrum-half position, [4] [5] and was educated at Ysgol Dewi Sent and Ysgol y Strade. Knight's physical education teacher at secondary school encouraged her to play alongside boys until she prohibited from doing so per school regulations. She matriculated to Swansea University and studied medical genetics. [2] She later went on to study to become a midwife at King's College London, [6] having been inspired from support after giving birth when battling Tokophobia. [5] Knight's dissertation was on researching international athletes and the perspective of being pregnant and giving birth. [7]
She played rugby while studying after reaching an agreement with Imperial College London. [4] Knight combines her part-time midwife work with her rugby career for better family-work balance. [8] [9] When the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the United Kingdom, Knight was required to separate herself from her husband and son to work long shifts at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington for three months. [4] [5]
She began competing in rugby when she was 12 years old and went on to played football for Wales at the Under 19 level due to a lack of provision for girls in her local area. A knee injury at age 16 ended her career in football. [2] [4] [3] Following an operation to her knee that kept her out of sport for four years, [2] Knight was able to make a serious return to playing and tried out touch rugby and later full-contact rugby. She has played for Wales in rugby sevens and mixed touch rugby. Knight also played with Waunarlwydd, before moving to Gorseinon where she captained the team. [4]
Knight was also capped for Wales at the Under 20 level. [1] Although she was due to earn her first international cap at the 2014 Women's Six Nations Championship, [5] during pregnancy, Knight vowed to play for the senior team sometime in the future; she feared that would affect her career adversely. Knight asked a coach to draw up a fitness programme that was altered with each semester. [7] She was shortlisted for the Wales women's national team side for the 2018 Women's Six Nations Championship. [10] Knight made her debut for the Wales national team in a Six Nations match against Scotland and she has gone to be capped a total of six times in her career. [11]
At the club level, Knight played as captain for Richmond Women in the Women's Premiership, [2] and also competed for Cardiff Quins, Scarlets Ladies and Dragons. [2] [4] [12] She won the 2017–18 Welsh Regional Championship before joining Saracens Women of the Premier 15s as a frequent player of the development side midway through the 2018–19 season. [1] [6] [8]