Shaunagh Brown Explained

Shaunagh Brown
Birth Name:Shaunagh Brown
Birth Date:1990 3, df=yes
Birth Place:London, England
Height:1.78 m
Weight:95 kg
Ru Position:Flanker / Prop
Ru Currentteam:Harlequins Women
Years1:2016–2017
Clubs1:Aylesford Bulls
Years2:2017−2023
Clubs2:Harlequins
Apps2:44
Points2:250
Ru Nationalyears:2017–2022
Ru Nationalteam:England
Ru Nationalcaps:30
Ru Nationalpoints:15

Shaunagh Jordan 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]

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.[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.

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.

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.

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. 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.

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]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2022-12-02 . Shaunagh Brown to retire from rugby . 2023-01-07 . www.englandrugby.com.
  2. Web site: 2022-12-21 . Shaunagh Brown: England and Harlequins forward retiring from rugby at the end of 2022 . 2023-01-07 . Sky Sports . en.
  3. Web site: England Senior Women: Shaunagh Brown. England Rugby. 12 February 2020.
  4. News: MacPherson. Will. 29 March 2019. Why Harlequins 'Hammer' Shaunagh Brown is learning on the job. en. Evening Standard. 12 February 2020.
  5. Web site: Shaunagh Brown: a trailblazer rugby can be proud of. 2021-05-18. Premiership Rugby. en-US.
  6. News: Tomas. Fiona. 2020-09-17. 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'. en-GB. The Telegraph. 2021-05-18. 0307-1235.
  7. Web site: Rugby World Cup: Sadia Kabeya and Morwenna Talling in England squad. BBC Sport.
  8. Web site: England prop Shaunagh Brown calls time on rugby career . BBC Sport . 31 March 2023 . 21 December 2022.
  9. Web site: December 2020. Harry Latham-Coyle Thursday 10. Exclusive: England star Shaunagh Brown champions the rise of female referees. 2021-05-18. Talking Rugby Union.
  10. Web site: women.rugby. Shaunagh Brown: "Everything I do in life is towards winning Rugby World Cup" Women in Rugby women.rugby. 2021-05-18. www.worldrugby.org. en.
  11. Web site: January 2020. Joe Harvey Tuesday 28. Shaunagh Brown: "I’m just a kid playing rugby in my head still". 2021-05-18. Talking Rugby Union.