Sophie Spence (born 26 February 1987) is a former Ireland women's rugby union international. Spence represented Ireland at the

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and 2017 Women's Rugby World Cups. Spence was a member of the first Ireland teams to defeat and . She was also a member of the Ireland teams that won the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

and

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 u ...

s. Spence is a

British Nigerian British Nigerians are British people of Nigerian descent or Nigerians of British descent. This article is about residents and citizens of Nigerian descent living in Britain. Many Nigerians and their British-born descendants in Britain live in So ...

who qualified to represent Ireland through her mother, who was originally from Lisburn,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Early years, family and education

Spence is the daughter of Myrtle Spence, who was originally from Lisburn,

. Her father was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

marine engineering student. Myrtle Spence moved to South Shields,

Tyne & Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...

in the early 1980s, when she was in her mid-twenties, and subsequently met and had a relationship with Sophie's father. Sophie Spence was born and raised in South Shields, where she attended Ashley Road Primary School and Brinkburn Comprehensive. As a child she regularly spent holidays with her mother's family in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. In her youth, Spence initially played

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

. Between 2005 and 2010 she attended

Teesside University , mottoeng = Deeds Not Words , established = 1930 – Constantine Technical College1969 – as Teesside Polytechnic 1992 – gained university status , type = Public , endowment = £0.23 m (2019/20) , chancellor ...

, where she gained a

BASc BASC may refer to: * Berkeley APEC Study Center * Berlin Air Safety Center * British Association for Shooting and Conservation * Bulacan Agricultural State College, Philippines * Business Alliance for Secure Commerce See also * Bachelor of Ap ...

in sports and exercise coaching science, a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in sport psychology and a PGCE.

Playing career

Clubs

Spence began playing

women's rugby union Women's rugby union is a full contact team sport based on running with the ball in hand. The same laws are used in men's rugby union with the same sized pitch and same equipment. Rugby was originally a men's sport, and women's rugby has become p ...

while at

. She played with Darlington before joining

Darlington Mowden Park Sharks Darlington Mowden Park Sharks Ladies Rugby Football Club (known currently as DMP Durham Sharks for partnership purposes) is a women's rugby union club in Darlington, County Durham, England founded in 1996. Their top try scorer (42 tries in 68 ap ...

who played in the

Women's Premiership The Women's Premiership, also called the RFUW Premiership was the top level of women's rugby union in England until 2017. It was formed in 1990 and was run by the Rugby Football Union for Women. It was superseded in the 2017/18 season by Premier ...

. Her teammates at Sharks included the international captain, Katy McLean. Spence subsequently made her debut for both and the Ireland Sevens while a Sharks player. In 2013, after moving to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

to further her Ireland career, Spence began playing for

Old Belvedere Old Belvedere R.F.C. is a senior Irish rugby union club based on Anglesea Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin, Ireland. Old Belvedere was originally founded in 1918–19 by former pupils of Belvedere College. Old Belvedere enters senior men's teams in th ...

Provincial level

In August 2011 Spence tried out for the Irish Exiles. Spence has also played for

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

in the

IRFU Women's Interprovincial Series The IRFU Women's Interprovincial Series, previously known as the IWRFU Interprovincial Championship, is the top level women's rugby union competition in Ireland. It is organised by the Irish Rugby Football Union. It is the women's equivalent of th ...

. In addition to playing for Leinster, Spence has worked for Leinster Rugby in various coaching and community development roles.

Barbarians

In March 2018 Spence played for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

against a British Army XV.

Ireland international

Between

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and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

Spence played for . After Spence attended an Irish Exiles trials in August 2011, Philip Doyle decided to fast track her into the Ireland team. Doyle recognised her potential and was keen to claim her for Ireland before came calling. She subsequently made her debut for Ireland on 3 February 2012 against . The match was abandoned at half-time because of a frozen pitch. Spence went on to represent Ireland at the

and 2017 Women's Rugby World Cups. Spence was a member of the first Ireland teams to defeat and . She was also a member of the Ireland teams that won the

and

s. In 2015 she was a nominee for the IRB Women's Player of the Year, the

RTÉ Sports Person of the Year The RTÉ Sports Person of the Year Award is the titular award of the RTÉ Sport, RTÉ Sports Awards ceremony, which takes place each December. The winner is the Irish sportsperson (from the island of Ireland) judged to have ach ...

and was named the '' Guinness'' Rugby Writers of Ireland Women's Player of the Year. Spence retired as an Ireland international after failing to make the squad for the

2018 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2018 Women's Six Nations Championship, also known as the 2018 RBS Women's Six Nations sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 17th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby union competition between six Eu ...

. Spence played for the Ireland women's national rugby sevens team in the 2013 European Women's Sevens Grand Prix Series.

Employment

Spence has worked in various teaching, coaching and development roles. Between 2010 and 2013 she worked at Hartlepool Sixth Form College, where she managed the

academy. After moving to

, Spence worked for Leinster Rugby in various coaching and community development roles. Between 2014 and 2017 she worked as a rugby union development officer with

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its ...

. She also worked as a brand ambassador for both Nissan and the Bank of Ireland. In April 2016 she launched the Sophie Spence Rugby Academy.

Honours

Rugby union

; *

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 ...

**''Winners'':

, 2015 *

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

**''Winners'':

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

**''Winners'':

, 2015 ;

**''Winners'': 2013 ; Ireland Sevens * Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Championships Plate **''Winners'':

;Individual *'' Guinness'' Rugby Writers of Ireland Women's Player of the Year Award ** 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, Sophie 1987 births Living people English female rugby union players Irish female rugby union players Ireland women's international rugby union players Ireland international women's rugby sevens players Irish rugby sevens players Female rugby sevens players Old Belvedere R.F.C. players Leinster Rugby women's players Irish Exiles women's rugby union players English netball coaches Irish rugby union coaches People associated with Dublin City University Irish people of Nigerian descent English sportspeople of Nigerian descent English people of Northern Ireland descent Black British sportswomen Alumni of Teesside University Black Irish sportspeople Rugby union players from South Shields Female rugby union coaches Darlington Mowden Park Sharks players