| Date of birth | 10 June 1958 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Minnesota, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sue Dorrington (born 10 June 1958) is a former English rugby union player and pioneer of the women's game, in England and internationally.
| Date of birth | 10 June 1958 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Minnesota, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sue Dorrington (born 10 June 1958) is a former English rugby union player and pioneer of the women's game, in England and internationally.
Dorrington was born and raised in Minnesota, USA. [1] She started playing rugby in the early eighties and moved to London in 1983 for more competitive rugby. [2] She played for Richmond Women and represented both Great Britain, and England in test matches.
Dorrington and three of her Richmond teammates — Deborah Griffin, Alice Cooper, and Mary Forsyth, organized the first Women's Rugby World Cup in Wales in 1991. [3] [4] She had to balance her role on the Women’s Rugby World Cup Organising Committee and also as England’s starting hooker at the World Cup. [1] She missed the official opening ceremony as she had to take care of Griffin’s daughter, and then line up at hooker for England the following day. [5]
Dorrington later captained England against Scotland at the 1994 World Cup. She did not get to play in the final when England beat defending champions the United States 38–23. [5] [1] She played her last test for England in 1997. She continued to play for Richmond and is the only player to represent Richmond for over three decades.
Dorrington was also Richmond’s first-ever female vice-president. [5]
Dorrington, Griffin, Cooper, and Forsyth were inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in a special ceremony during the 2021 Rugby World Cup semi-finals at Eden Park on 5 November 2022. [5]
The New Zealand women's rugby union team, called the Black Ferns, represents New Zealand in women's international rugby union, which is regarded as the country's national sport. The team has won six out of nine Women's Rugby World Cup tournaments.
The 1991 Women's Rugby World Cup was the first Women's Rugby World Cup. The tournament was not approved by the International Rugby Board (IRB), yet it still went ahead despite the disapproval of the sports governing body. France confirmed their participation only minutes before the draw was made on 26 February. Representatives of the IRB, WRFU and RFU attended the final, but it was not until 2009 that the IRB officially endorsed the event as a "world cup" when it published, for the first time, a list of previous winners in a press release.
The USA Women's National Team XVs is the senior national team for the United States in the 15-a-side version of rugby. The team was officially formed in 1987 and is nicknamed the Eagles.
The Wales women's national rugby union team first played in 1987. Wales plays in the Women's Rugby World Cup and the Women's Six Nations Championship.
The Canada women's national rugby union team is governed by Rugby Canada, and plays in red and black. They were ranked 5th in World Rugby's inaugural women's rankings and are currently ranked as the third best team in the world. Canada competes in competitions such as the Pacific Four Series and the Rugby World Cup.
Kathleen Flores was an American rugby union player who was the head coach of the U.S. women's national team until January 2011 and the head coach of the Brown women's rugby team. Past coaching tenures include Bay Area Touring Side (BATS) Rugby Club, the SF FOG men and the Berkeley All Blues. She played rugby from 1978 to 1998 for Florida State University, the Berkeley All Blues Women's Rugby Club and U.S. women's national team. She started coaching for the Berkeley All Blues 1998 and had been head coach and administrator for the U.S. women's national team since 2003. She began coaching the women's rugby team at Brown University in the fall of 2013, following the retirement of Kerri Heffernan. During her time in Rhode Island, she also coached the Providence Women’s Rugby team. She was able to bring them to several division 2 championships.
Dame Farah Rangikoepa Palmer is a professor at Massey University and a former captain of New Zealand's women's rugby union team, the Black Ferns.
Richmond Women, formally Finchley RFC, is a women's rugby union team based in Richmond, London, England. They were founded in 1986 and played in the Women's Premiership. They are also the women's team of Richmond F.C.
Fiao'o Fa'amausili is a former New Zealand female rugby union player. She played for New Zealand and Auckland. She made her Black Ferns debut on 18 May, 2002 against Australia at Barcelona. She was a member of the winning Black Ferns squad for the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup. She has been to five World Cups beginning from 2002–2017.
Sarah Alice Hunter is an English retired rugby union player. She represented England at four Rugby World Cups. At the 2021 Rugby World Cup, Hunter received her 138th international cap, passing Rochelle Clark to become England's all-time most capped rugby player.
Flight Lieutenant Amy Victoria Fiona Cokayne is an English rugby union player. She made her international debut for England in 2015 against Italy. She was named in the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup squad for England.
Victoria Cornborough is an English rugby union player. She debuted for England in 2015. She was named in the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup squad for England. She was awarded a full-time contract with England in 2019 and plays for Harlequins Women at club level.
Deborah Griffin is a pioneer of the growth of women's rugby, both in England and globally.
Lark Davies is an English rugby union player. She is a Six Nations Grand Slam champion as part of the England women's national rugby team, and plays for Bristol Bears at club level.
Adiana Talakai is an Australian rugby union player. She plays at Hooker for the NSW Waratahs in the Super W competition and for Australia internationally. She was part of Australia's squad that competed at the 2022 Rugby World Cup.
Ashley Marsters is an Australian rugby union player. She plays Hooker internationally for Australia, and for the Melbourne Rebels in the Super W competition. She has competed at the 2014 and 2021 Rugby World Cup's.
Alice D. Cooper is a pioneer of women's rugby union, in England and internationally.
Mary Forsyth is a pioneer of women's rugby union, in England and internationally.
Emily Tuttosi is a Canadian rugby union player. She plays as hooker for Canada internationally and for the Exeter Chiefs in the Premier 15s.
Megan Foster is an American rugby union player. She is a Flyhalf for the United States and Exeter Chiefs.