Evie Tonkin

Evie Tonkin
Date of birth (1997-08-05) 5 August 1997 (age 27)
Place of birthPenrith, England
Height1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight58 kg (128 lb; 9 st 2 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Left wing or Full Back
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2018-2021 DMP Sharks 35 (15)
2021- present Sale Sharks ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2019–present Scotland 5

Evie Tonkin (born 5 August 1997) is an English rugby player from Keswick who has played for the Scottish Women's team since 2019, and was named in the squad for the 2020 and 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.[1]

Club career

Tonkin has played for Darlington Mowden Park Sharks since 2018.[2] Justin Loveridge, the head of programme and co-head coach at DMP Sharks says of her abilities, "Evie has great footwork while her running lines off 13 in attack really cause teams problems and she makes good yards."[3]

Before joining DMP Sharks she played for Harrogate.[4]

Tonkin captained the Leeds Beckett University Women's Rugby team whilst studying for a degree in Sports and Exercise Science.[5] In this time, she led the team to promotion into the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Northern Premiership League.[6]

She has signed for Sale Sharks this season.

International career

Tonkin was first selected to play for Scotland Women 7s in their debut World Rugby Women's Sevens Series in Biarritz in 2019.[7] That year, she was one of five DMP Sharks named for Scotland's autumn tests.[8] This included playing in tests against Wales and Japan, alongside fellow debutants Evie Gallagher, Sarah Denholm and Alex Wallace.[9][10]

She was included by coach Philip Doyle in the squad for the disrupted 2020 Women's Six Nations Championship.[11] During the championship, she started for Scotland in the match against England, replacing Megan Gaffney.[12] For the match against Ireland she was a substitute for Chloe Rollie at full-back. Doyle explained his decision, "Evie Tonkin played well at full-back in Spain, but this is such a big game and Chloe's experience will be invaluable."[13]

In the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship, she was also part of the squad, although did not play in the matches.[14]

She qualifies to play for Scotland through family connections and was brought into the squad through the Scottish Qualified Programme at Scottish Rugby.[15]

Personal life

Tonkin first started playing rugby when she was 13 at Keswick Rugby Club.[16] She studied at Leeds Beckett University to gain a PGCE in PE and Geography. A former pupil of Keswick School, she is now a PE teacher there and mentors the school's girls' rugby teams.[17][18][19]

Tonkin studied Sports and Exercise Science BSC Hons at Leeds Beckett University where she gained a 1st in her degree.

References

  1. ^ "Evie Tonkin". Scottish Rugby Union. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  2. ^ "StackPath". www.mowdenpark.com. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  3. ^ November 2019, Gary Heatly Friday 15. "English leagues can continue to produce talent after rise of Tonkin & Wallace". Talking Rugby Union. Retrieved 2021-06-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Evie Tonkin". Scottish Rugby Union. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  5. ^ "Evie Tonkin". Scottish Rugby Union. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  6. ^ "Women's rugby defeat Sheffield University | Leeds Beckett University". www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  7. ^ Barnes, David (2019-06-10). "Scotland Women's 7s squad for World Series guest appearance in Biarritz". The Offside Line. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  8. ^ November 2019, Gary Heatly Friday 15. "English leagues can continue to produce talent after rise of Tonkin & Wallace". Talking Rugby Union. Retrieved 2021-06-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Scotland Women: Four uncapped players called up as Malcolm named captain". BBC Sport. 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  10. ^ Bathgate, Stuart (2019-11-22). "Scotland reshuffle backs and pack for Japan match". The Offside Line. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  11. ^ "Five new caps in Philip Doyle's first Scottish Six Nations squad". The Offside Line. 2020-01-24. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  12. ^ "Law and Tonkin start for Scotland". BBC Sport. 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  13. ^ Bathgate, Stuart (2020-01-31). "Women's Six Nations: Scotland make three changes for Ireland game". The Offside Line. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  14. ^ "Scotland squad announced for 2021 Women's Six Nations". Scottish Rugby Union. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  15. ^ November 2019, Gary Heatly Friday 15. "English leagues can continue to produce talent after rise of Tonkin & Wallace". Talking Rugby Union. Retrieved 2021-06-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "Evie Tonkin". Scottish Rugby Union. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  17. ^ "Keswick under-15 rugby girls take on Penrith in hard-fought game – The Keswick Reminder". Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  18. ^ "Penrith rugby under-15s exceed expectations in fast-paced game - Cumberland and Westmorland Herald". 2021-05-16. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  19. ^ "StackPath". www.keswickrugby.com. Retrieved 2021-06-02.