| Born | 2 August 1986 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 83 kg (183 lb; 13 st 1 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Ruth McKay (born 2 August 1986) is a New Zealand rugby union player. She plays Prop for New Zealand and Manawatu. She was a member of the 2010 Rugby World Cup winning squad. She also competed in the 2014 Rugby World Cup in France.
McKay attended Taihape College where she began playing rugby as a third-former. [1] She first played for Manawatu in 2003, she was still a seventh-former student at Whanganui Girls' College. [2]
McKay made her international debut for New Zealand on 16 October 2007 against Australia at Wanganui. [3] [4] She made her second appearance for the side in Porirua. [5] She faced the Wallaroos again a year later in the 2008 Laurie O'Reilly Cup at Canberra. [6] She played in both test matches. [7] [8]
In 2009, she was named in the Black Ferns side that toured England in November. [9]
McKay was a member of the 2010 Rugby World Cup winning squad. [1] [10] She started in their opening match of the World Cup against South Africa. [11] [12] She also competed against Australia, Wales and France. She started in the World Cup final against England where the Black Ferns claimed their fourth title. [13] [14]
In 2012, she was selected for the Black Ferns squad that toured England for a three-test series in November. She featured in every game which England eventually won to claim the series. [15] [16]
In 2013, she was in the Black Ferns squad that took on England again in their July tour of New Zealand. [17] The first test took place in Auckland which her side won despite some defensive dominance from England. [18] She started in the second test in which they clinched the series with a narrow margin at Hamilton. [19] [20] She came off the bench in the final game as her side secured the series 3–0 with an emphatic 29–8 win. [21]
She played in the Black Ferns side that competed in an international women's rugby series in Rotorua in June 2014. [22] The fixture included matches against Australia, Canada and Samoa. [22] She started in the final game of the series against Canada at Whakatāne. [23] [24]
McKay made the selection for her final World Cup appearance at the 2014 tournament in France. She started in the opening match against Kazakhstan. [25] She then featured in the pool game where Ireland stunned the Black Ferns with their first defeat in a World Cup since their 1991 semi-final loss to the United States. [26] [27] She played her last international game in her side's fifth place playoff against the Eagles. [28]
McKay is a shepherd in Hunterville, New Zealand. [1] [3]
