Heather Cowell

Heather Cowell
Date of birth (1996-01-23) 23 January 1996 (age 28)
Place of birthIsleworth
Height1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight60 kg (132 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Winger
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2017 Worcester Warriors ()
2018– Harlequins ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2022– England 3 (20)
National sevens teams
Years Team Comps
2022– England 7s
2023– Great Britain 7s
Medal record
Women's rugby sevens
Representing  Great Britain
European Games
Gold medal – first place 2023 Kraków–Małopolska Team competition

Heather Rebecca S. Cowell (born 23 January 1996) is an English rugby union player.[1]

Career

A former international gymnast, Cowell was a junior world champion in tumbling in 2013 in Bulgaria, and was part of the winning team at the Senior European Champion Team Event in 2014 in Portugal.[2][3] Cowell performed gymnastics at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.[4] Cowell competed at international level until she was 20. After playing rugby at the University of Birmingham, Cowell joined Worcester Warriors before taking some time out of the game and returning with Harlequins Women.[5]

Cowell scored twice on her England XV’s debut during the 2021-22 season. A call up to the England sevens team followed for the England Rugby Europe Series in Budapest.[6] Cowell was selected to play for England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in rugby sevens.[7] She was named in the England squad for the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens – Women's tournament held in Cape Town, South Africa in September 2022.[8] She was a selected as a member of the GB sevens squad for the 2023 European Games.[9] Great Britain won a gold medal at the event and sealed qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games.[10] In June 2024, she was named in the British squad for the Olympic Games.[11] The team finished seventh.[12]

Personal life

Cowell attended Chase Bridge Primary School in Twickenham, Orleans Park School and Richmond College. Her brother Cameron Cowell is a professional rugby player who has also represented England at sevens rugby.[13]

References

  1. ^ "RFU". www.englandrugby.com.
  2. ^ Goodwill, Jake (18 October 2019). "From tumbling to acrobatic tries – how Harlequins wing Heather Cowell made the transition to the oval ball game". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  3. ^ "Heather Cowell". FEEPO - Women's Rugby Strength and Conditioning.
  4. ^ "Cowell: Commonwealth showcase can put tumbling on the map". Your Local Guardian. 24 July 2014.
  5. ^ World, Rugby (8 November 2019). "Hotshot: Harlequins Women wing Heather Cowell". Rugby World.
  6. ^ "Heather Cowell". teamengland.org.
  7. ^ "RFU". www.englandrugby.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  8. ^ "ENGLAND SQUADS FOR RUGBY WORLD CUP SEVENS NAMED". Englandrugby.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  9. ^ "European Games: Rugby sevens stars zero in on Paris 2024 prize". Team GB. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  10. ^ "European Games 2023: 'Huge relief' as GB women's sevens team win gold to land Olympics spot". BBC Sport. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  11. ^ Southcombe, Matt (19 June 2024). "Welsh speedster Jasmine Joyce makes history with Team GB Paris Olympics call-up". ITV.com. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Around the Games: Day Four of Paris 2024". Team GB. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  13. ^ Jerman, Ella (22 December 2019). "Heather Cowell returns to her native Twickenham to face Leinster with Harlequins". inews.co.uk.