Catherine Spencer (born 25 May 1979) is a former English female rugby union player. She was selected as captain in 2007. She captained at the

2010 Women's Rugby World Cup The 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup was the sixth edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup and was held in England. The International Rugby Board Executive Committee selected the host union following a recommendation from the Rugby World Cup Limite ...

and was also a member of the squad to the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

. Spencer retired from international rugby in 2011. Spencer scored 18 tries for England, played in 8 six nations 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11 won 6 as well as 5 grand slams. Her awards have included England Player of the Year in 2006, the Rugby Union Writers Club Award in 2010, and the Linda Uttley Award in 2011. Spencer played for Worcester, Bristol and

Aylesford Bulls Ladies Aylesford Bulls Ladies Rugby Football Club were a women's rugby union club based in Aylesford, Kent, England. They played in the Women's Premiership. They were founded in 1998 and were the ladies team of Aylesford Bulls. Following an agreement wi ...

and has now completely retired from playing rugby. Spencer ran her own successful women's speaker agency Inspiring women until the global pandemic put a stop to in person speaking events. Because of the pandemic, she made the decision to become a teacher and now teaches at a school not far from where she grew up. Spencer was awarded an honorary doctorate from

Canterbury Christ Church University , mottoeng = The truth shall set you free , established = 2005 – gained University status 1962 – teacher training college , type = Public , religious_affiliation = Church of England , city ...

in September 2018 for significantly raising the profile of women's rugby through her leadership and continuing to inspire girls and women. In 2022, Spencer commentated on matches for

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

for the

2021 Rugby World Cup The 2021 Rugby World Cup was the ninth staging of the women's Rugby World Cup, as organised by World Rugby. It was held from 8 October to 12 November 2022 in Auckland and Whangārei, New Zealand. It was originally scheduled to be held in 2021, ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Catherine 1979 births Living people England women's international rugby union players English female rugby union players Rugby union players from Ashford, Kent Rugby union number eights Worcester Warriors Women players Bristol Bears Women players English schoolteachers