Shaunagh Brown

Shaunagh Brown (born 15 March 1990) is a former English rugby union player and former hammer thrower. In rugby union she represented England and Harlequins Women until her retirement in December 2022.[1][2] She made her debut for the England national team in 2017 against Canada.[3] Brown represented England in the hammer throw event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and has also worked as a gas engineer, firefighter, and commercial diver.[4]

Shaunagh Brown
Birth nameShaunagh Brown
Date of birth (1990-03-15) 15 March 1990
Place of birthLondon, England
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight95 kg (209 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker / Prop
Current team Harlequins Women
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016–2017 Aylesford Bulls ()
2017−2023 Harlequins 44 (250)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2017–2022 England 27 10

International career

Before rugby, Brown had a career in athletics: she represented England in the hammer throw at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She also boxed professionally, competed in discus and shotput, and participated in Strongwoman competitions.[3][5]

Brown began playing rugby aged 25 and made her international debut two years later in November 2017 when England played Canada. She received permission from the Kent Fire and Rescue Service, with whom she was training for a new career, to play her first international game.[6]

In 2019, she received a full time contract from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and played in every game of the 2019 Women's Six Nations which England won with a Grand Slam.[3]

Brown was unable to play in the 2019 Super Series due to injury but returned to international rugby for the start of the 2019/20 season. She was part of the 2020 Women's Six Nations Grand Slam winning England team.[3]

Brown was named in the England squad for the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup held in New Zealand in October and November 2022.[7] She made her final international appearance in the 2021 Rugby World Cup Final and retired from rugby in December 2022.[8]

Club career

Brown began her career at Medway RFC in 2015. She moved to Harlequins Women in 2016 where she played in every league game as they won the title.[3]

She was a key part of the working group set up by the RFU's 'Rugby Against Racism' campaign alongside former England player Ugo Monye.[6] In 2020, she was nominated for Influencer of the Year at the Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards for her Instagram campaign to highlight black stories and history during 2020 Black History Month.[9]

Early life and education

Brown was raised in Kennington, south London. Her father is Jamaican and her mother is English. She was a member of the Blackheath and Bromley Harriers athletics club.[6]

She attended Walnut Tree Walk Primary School and Addey and Stanhope School.

In 2010, she trained as a British Gas engineer and worked for the company until she became a commercial diver in 2015. In 2017, she began training with Kent Fire and Rescue Service and was a full time firefighter until 2020, taking a three-year sabbatical after she was awarded a full time professional rugby contract.[10]

In 2019, Brown was named one of the Evening Standard’s most influential Londoners.[11]

References
  1. "Shaunagh Brown to retire from rugby". www.englandrugby.com. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  2. "Shaunagh Brown: England and Harlequins forward retiring from rugby at the end of 2022". Sky Sports. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  3. "England Senior Women: Shaunagh Brown". England Rugby. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  4. MacPherson, Will (29 March 2019). "Why Harlequins 'Hammer' Shaunagh Brown is learning on the job". Evening Standard. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  5. "Shaunagh Brown: a trailblazer rugby can be proud of". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  6. Tomas, Fiona (17 September 2020). "Shaunagh Brown: 'If me, being mixed race, female and having my hair out, makes girls want to have a go at rugby, then job done'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  7. "Rugby World Cup: Sadia Kabeya and Morwenna Talling in England squad". BBC Sport.
  8. "England prop Shaunagh Brown calls time on rugby career". BBC Sport. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  9. December 2020, Harry Latham-Coyle Thursday 10. "Exclusive: England star Shaunagh Brown champions the rise of female referees". Talking Rugby Union. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  10. women.rugby. "Shaunagh Brown: "Everything I do in life is towards winning Rugby World Cup" | Women in Rugby | women.rugby". www.worldrugby.org. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  11. January 2020, Joe Harvey Tuesday 28. "Shaunagh Brown: "I'm just a kid playing rugby in my head still"". Talking Rugby Union. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
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