Katherine Elizabeth "Kat" Merchant (born 29 October 1985) is an English female

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 represented her country 58 times and scored 44 tries.

Life

Merchant was playing serious rugby when she was sixteen. She graduated from

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

in Sport and Exercise Science in 2007. She was playing for

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

when she began her nine-year international career during the 2005 Six Nations. She played the 7 player and 15 player game and took part in two World Cups in both variations. She represented 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 was named in the squad for 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 ...

. She was a member of the squad to the

2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens The 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens was the sixth edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The tournament was held at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. New Zealand won the tournament, defeating England 33–0 in the final. Attendance for the tourname ...

She announced her retirement in September 2014 with immediate effect on medical grounds, as she had taken a number of concussions. In 2015 she was the coach for the Sri Lanka national team. she was a

personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, providing m ...

, and coach o
Old Streetonians Rugby Club
in central London.

References

External links

Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merchant, Katherine 1985 births Living people English female rugby union players Alumni of the University of Birmingham Rugby union players from Brighton England international women's rugby sevens players Rugby union wings English rugby union coaches Coaches of international rugby union teams English expatriate sportspeople in Sri Lanka Expatriate rugby union coaches Worcester Warriors Women players 21st-century English sportswomen