Fiona McIntosh is an English-born Scottish rugby union player, who currently plays as a lock for Saracens Women in Premiership Women's Rugby, the top-tier competition of women's rugby union in England, and the

Scotland national team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the thr ...

Club career

McIntosh started playing rugby union at the age of seven, firstly in the minis section at

Old Alleynians Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose ...

, and later for Kent Divas. As a teenager, she took a three-year hiatus from the sport to concentrate on rowing, before returning to rugby while attending Hartpury College. At the age of 18, McIntosh joined Richmond Women, and made her senior rugby debut in September 2018, in a match against Firwood Waterloo during the

2018–19 Premier 15s The 2018–19 Premier 15s kicked-off on 18th September, 2018. The tournament consisted of 18 rounds with the final being played on 27th April, 2019. Saracens Women defeated Harlequins Women, Harlequins Ladies 33–17 in the finals and were crowned ...

season. She continued to build her experience with the first team over the next two years, until the club was omitted from the Premier 15s in 2020, following a restructure of the competition. In 2020, McIntosh signed with fellow top-flight London-based club

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

. She established herself as a first-choice lock over the course of the 2021–22 Premier 15s campaign, helping the club to its fourth consecutive table-topping finish in the regular season, and then starting in the play-off final, where Saracens were crowned champions after defeating Exeter Chiefs by a score of 43–21. Halfway through the

2023–24 Premiership Women's Rugby The 2023–24 Premiership Women's Rugby is the seventh season of Premiership Women's Rugby, the top-flight domestic women's rugby union club competition in England. Sponsored by Allianz for the fourth consecutive season, it is the first season u ...

season, McIntosh spent time on loan at Edinburgh, having been named by the Scottish Rugby Union as one of the 11 Scotland-qualified players available for selection to compete in the 2023–24 Celtic Challenge.

International career

McIntosh progressed through the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

youth pathways, being named in England Talent Development Group whilst still a student. She subsequently played for the England U20s during the 2019–20 season. In 2023, McIntosh received her first senior call-up with the Scotland squad, qualifying to represent the nation via ancestry. She was selected as part of the country's

2023 WXV The 2023 WXV was the first edition of WXV, a women's rugby union, women's Women's international rugby union, international rugby union Group tournament ranking system, group tournament for senior national teams organised by World Rugby, and too ...

campaign, although she did not feature in any of the matches. The following year, she was retained in the Scotland squad ahead of the

2024 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2024 Women's Six Nations Championship, known as the Guinness Women's Six Nations for sponsorship purposes except in France where due to alcohol sponsorship prohibitions the tournament was unsponsored, was the 23rd series of the Women's Six N ...

. McIntosh made her test debut on 13 April 2024, starting in the second row against the country of her birth, England.

Personal life and education

McIntosh studied at St George's, University of London between 2018 and 2021, earning a bachelor's degree in biomedical science. She then continued her education at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, from where she graduated in 2023, with a master's degree in global health.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McIntosh, Fiona 1999 births Living people English female rugby union players Scottish female rugby union players Scotland women's international rugby union players Rugby union locks Saracens Women rugby players 21st-century English sportswomen