Rachel Taylor (born 13 June 1983) is a Welsh

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who plays in either Lock or back row for the

Bristol Ladies Bristol Bears Women, formerly Clifton Ladies RFC, then Bristol Ladies, is a women's rugby union team based in Bristol, England. They are a standalone, independent rugby club, running in partnership with the Bristol Bears (formerly Bristol Rugby) s ...

Newport Gwent Dragons Dragons RFC ( cy, Dreigiau) are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They are owned by the Welsh Rugby Union and play their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport and at other grounds around the region. They play in ...

and the

Wales women's national rugby union team 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 History Wales Women have played as a team officially since 5 April 1987 when a Wales Women te ...

. She won her first international cap against

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in 2007, and has since captained the team.

Early life

Rachel Taylor was born in Bangor on 13 June 1983. She began playing rugby at the age of five, later describing her family as "rugby-orientated" since her father was a rugby coach and her older brother already played for a local team. Although she tried a variety of sports in her youth, she returned to rugby. Once her brother switched to playing

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, she focused on rugby, seeking to play for her national team. She is trained as a

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, and gave the keynote speech at the

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in 2017.

Playing career

As of 2017, her official Wales Rugby Union biography states that she is tall and weighs . She has been given the nickname "Tails" by her teammates. She made her debut for the

against

in 2007. She was first named as captain of the team in 2012 for the

Women's Six Nations Championship The Women's Six Nations Championship, known as the TikTok Women's Six Nations for sponsorship purposes, is an international rugby union competition contested between six European women's national teams. It started in the 1995–96 season as the ...

. Taylor won her 50th cap for Wales when she played against

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in the

2015 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2015 Women's Six Nations Championship, also known as the 2015 RBS Women's Six Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 14th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby unio ...

. She has continued to captain her national team, including at the

2016 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2016 Women's Six Nations Championship, also known as the 2016 RBS Women's Six Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 15th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby union ...

. She is also involved in encouraging women's rugby at a grassroots level, being the Wales Rugby Union coordinator for the RGC West area in North Wales. This is in preparation for a transition from her playing career into retirement.

References

1983 births Living people Rugby union players from Bangor, Gwynedd Wales women's international rugby union players Welsh female rugby union players Women veterinarians Wales international women's rugby sevens players Welsh rugby sevens players Rugby union locks Alumni of Cardiff Metropolitan University Bristol Bears Women players British veterinarians {{Wales-rugbyunion-bio-stub