Abbie Fleming
Abbie Fleming (born 31 March 1996) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays flanker for the Wales women's national rugby union team and lock for Exeter Chiefs in the Premier 15s.[1] She made her international debut for Wales against Spain in 2019.[2][3]
Date of birth | 31 March 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | Exeter, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 74 kg (163 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation(s) | Physiotherapist, rugby player | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby career
Club career
Fleming began playing rugby at the age of 12. Following a move to Wales from her hometown of Exeter she played for Llandaff North RFC and then Cardiff Blues in Welsh regional rugby,[2] captaining the side in the summer of 2019.[4][3] She joined Exeter Chiefs in 2020.[2][3]
International career
Fleming won her first cap against Spain in the 2019 Autumn Internationals[2] and subsequently represented Wales at the 2021 Six Nations Championship.[5] She has also played against the Barbarians at the Principality Stadium.[2]
In January 2022, She was one of 31 Welsh players who have received full-time contracts.[6][7] She was selected for Wales sevens squad for the Lisbon leg of the 2022 Rugby Europe Sevens Championship Series.[8]
Fleming has won three caps in her rugby career to date.[1] She played in the warm-up match against Canada ahead of the World Cup.[9][10] She was selected in Wales squad for the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.[11][12]
Personal life
Fleming was temporarily unable to play rugby following an ACL reconstruction procedure in April 2019.[4]
Outside of rugby, Fleming is a qualified community and hospital physiotherapist in Bridgend, South Wales.[2][13] During the COVID-19 pandemic she was on the NHS frontline working as part of the respiratory on-call rota at Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend.[14][7]
References
- "Abbie Fleming". Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
- "Abbie Fleming". www.exeterchiefs.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
- Garrett, Olivia (2022-03-29). "Abbie Fleming is tackling change and breaking through the grass ceiling". Further. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
- www.uprisevsi.co.uk, upriseVSI. "Inspirational Cardiff Blues women stars on the front line of battle against Covid-19". upriseVSI. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
- World, Rugby (2021-04-22). "Wales Women's Six Nations Squad 2021 – Scotland 27-20 Wales". Rugby World. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
- Masters, Tom (2022-07-06). "Wales Women award 17 further contracts as Cunningham extends stay". TikTok Women’s Six Nations. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
- Smith, Annie (2022-02-15). "Abbie Fleming: From the pandemic frontline to playing in the Six Nations". The Cardiffian. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
- "Fleming added to Wales Sevens for Lisbon". BBC Sport. 2022-06-23. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
- Armitage, Megan (2022-08-26). "Wales set to face Canada in first warm-up match". TikTok Women’s Six Nations. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
- "Canada coast to win over Wales in Halifax". Americas Rugby News. 2022-08-27. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
- Jones, Liz (2022-09-21). "Wales Rugby World Cup squad named". Welsh Rugby Union. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
- "Wales: Siwan Lillicrap captains 32-player Rugby World Cup squad featuring 19 tournament debutants". Sky Sports. 2022-09-21. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
- "Inspirational Cardiff Blues women stars on the front line of battle against Covid-19". www.cardiffrugby.wales. 2020-04-10. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
- James, Ben (2020-04-08). "Four Wales Women rugby players join NHS frontline fight". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2021-06-10.