Danielle Waterman

Danielle Sian "Nolli" Waterman (born 20 January 1985) is a retired professional English rugby union, rugby sevens player and current rugby commentator. As a member of England's national rugby union team, she became a multiple Six Nations Championship winner and World Champion in 2014. She was selected for the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup squad.

Early life and career

Danielle Waterman is the daughter of Jim Waterman, who played in more than 400 games for Bath Rugby. Rugby took hold of her while Waterman's family was staying in New Zealand. At Palmerston North High School, she was one of a few girls who played rugby with the boys. She continued to do so at her first sports club, Minehead Barbarians RFC, after returning to England. She played for the South West regional U-16s squad until she was selected to the England Senior Academy at the age of 15.

Sports career

On her Test debut in 2003 against Ireland, 18-year-old Danielle Waterman became the youngest woman then to represent her country. She won the award for England's Most Promising Player in 2006 and was the national team's vice captain when England won the 2012 Women's European Championship. After winning silver medals at the 2006 World Cup and the 2010 World Cup, she became World Champion at the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup having scored a try in the final against Canada. Subsequently, Waterman was awarded Gloucestershire's Professional Sports Personality of 2014, in addition to the English team receiving the BBC Sports Personality Team of the Year Award.

Waterman holds a Level 3 Rugby Union coaching certificate. In 2014, she signed a professional contract with England 7s to prepare for the 2016 Summer Olympics. After suffering a knee injury and, later on, a broken cheekbone, Waterman was forced to pause for more than a year. She returned to the field in April 2016 at the Canada Women's Sevens scoring a try in her first appearance in the pool game against Ireland. The English national team won the series tournament with Waterman being named to the tournament's dream team.

Waterman was picked for the final selection of Great Britain's national rugby sevens team competing at the 2016 Summer Olympics. The team finished the tournament on 4th place losing against New Zealand in the semifinal and against Canada in the match for the bronze medals. She retired from international rugby in 2018 after scoring 47 tries and winning 82 caps over the course of her career.

Waterman joined Wasps Ladies FC in September 2017, playing in the inaugural Premiers 15 season in which the team finished third overall. She continued to play for Wasps Ladies until her retirement.

In 2019, she was on the first panel to determine the World Rugby women's-15s player-of-the-year award with Melodie Robinson, Will Greenwood, Liza Burgess, Lynne Cantwell, Fiona Coghlan, Gaëlle Mignot, Jillion Potter, Stephen Jones, and Karl Te Nana. As well, in 2019 she was on the World Rugby Men's Sevens Player of the Year award and World Rugby Women's Sevens Player of the Year award voting panels.

In September 2020, Waterman announced her official retirement from professional rugby.

Commentary work

Waterman joined the ITV commentary team as their first female rugby commentator for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Six Nations Championship.

She co-hosts a podcast about women's rugby, Try Hards Podcast, with rugby broadcaster Laura-Jane Jones.

In April 2021 Waterman was part of a short documentary named Finding Her Voice.

References

External links

RFU Player Profile
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterman, Danielle
1985 births
Living people
England international women's rugby sevens players
England women's international rugby union players
English female rugby union players
Great Britain women's international rugby sevens players
Olympic rugby sevens players for Great Britain
Rugby sevens players at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Rugby union players from Taunton
British women podcasters
English expatriates in New Zealand
Rugby union fullbacks
Rugby union commentators
Wasps Women rugby players
Bristol Bears Women players
Barbarian F.C. Women players
English podcasters
21st-century English sportswomen