Abi Taviner (born 20 February 1990) is a Welsh

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who has played centre wing for Ospreys Women's and the

Wales women's national rugby union team The Wales women's national rugby union team first played in 1987. Wales plays in the Women's Rugby World Cup and the Women's Six Nations Championship. Their current head coach, as of January 2025, is Sean Lynn. History As far back as the ni ...

. She won her first international

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

in 2011, in a match against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

at the

2010 Women's Rugby World Cup The 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup was the sixth edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup and was held in England. The International Rugby Board Executive Committee selected the host union following a recommendation from the Rugby World Cup Limit ...

, and her first international try came against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

the following year.

Biography

Taviner's birth was on 20 February 1990 in

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

Neath Port Talbot Neath Port Talbot () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county borough borders Bridgend County Borough and Rhon ...

, Wales. According to her biography page on the Welsh Rugby Union and Eurosport, she is listed at with a weight of , and plays either as a centre wing or a full back. Outside of rugby, Taviner works as a lifeguard at Village Urban Resorts Swansea, and also plays

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

and

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

. She began playing rugby when she was a 14-year-old student at Llangatwg School in

Aberdulais Aberdulais is a village and electoral ward in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, lying on the River Neath, in the community of Blaenhonddan. The village grew around the Aberdulais Falls, the site of successive industries and now a hydro-electric statio ...

, and has played the sport for the West Wales, Welsh Students, Wales Sevens and various national teams. Taviner played for the Wales national under-20 rugby union team and she captained the nation to victory over England during the 2009–2010 campaign. At the

in London, she got her first international

for the Wales women's national team in a match against

and went on to play in multiple

Women's Six Nations Championship The Women's Six Nations Championship, known as the Guinness Women's Six Nations for sponsorship purposes, is an international rugby union competition featuring six European women's national teams. It started in the 1995–96 season as the Home ...

campaigns, as well as the

2014 Women's Rugby World Cup The 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup was the seventh edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup, and the sixth held in Europe. The World Cup Final took place on 17 August. All of the pool games for the World Cup took place at the Centre National du ...

held in France in a surprise recall to the national side. She won 25 international caps before turning 26 years old, one of which was against the UK Armed Forces at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

on 11 November 2015. Taviner scored her first career international try in a match against

at Pandy Park in 2011. At club level, she has played for Neath Athletic,

Skewen RFC Skewen Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the village of Skewen, South Wales. Skewen RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys. Club history There's evidence of a Skewen rugb ...

and captained the Ospreys Women's team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taviner, Adi 1990 births Living people Rugby union players from Neath 21st-century Welsh sportswomen Welsh female rugby union players Wales women's international rugby union players Rugby union centres Rugby union fullbacks Ospreys (rugby union) players 21st-century Welsh sportsmen