Mackenzie Carson (born 24 June 1998) is a Canadian-born

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 currently plays for Gloucester-Hartpury in

Premiership Women's Rugby Premiership Women's Rugby – officially known as Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby or The Allianz PWR – is an annual semi-professional women's rugby union club competition at the highest level of the English rugby union system, and is run b ...

, the top-flight

women's rugby union Women's rugby union is a full contact team sport based on running with the ball in hand. The same laws are used in men's rugby union with the same sized pitch and same equipment. Women's rugby has become popular recently. These days, women's r ...

competition in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and for the

England national team Team England usually refers to the name under which athletes representing Commonwealth Games England compete. England team or Team England may refer to: *Commonwealth Games England *England national football team *England cricket team *England nat ...

at international level, having previously represented Canada three times.

Early life and education

Carson was born in Langley,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

to an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

mother and a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

father, and grew up in Abbotsford. She was first introduced to rugby at Abbotsford RFC in 2008, at the age of nine, and progressed all the way from the minis program up to the senior side. While a high school student at

Yale Secondary School Yale Secondary is a public High school#Canada, high school in Abbotsford, British Columbia part of School District 34 Abbotsford. There are approximately 1250 full-time students in grades 9 through 12. The current principal of the school is Stan W ...

, Carson represented her home province British Columbia, winning the inaugural U16s Canadian National Championship in 2013. She later captained the U18s team to victory at the National 7s Championship and the

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

International 7s Championship in 2016. In addition, she earned a bronze medal as a member of the BC senior team, competing at the 2017 National Championship. Carson also played in the BC Summer Games in 2014 winning a gold medal. Carson attended the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

in 2017, on the George Jones Scholarship, and played for the

UBC Thunderbirds The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thunderbirds are the most successful athletic program both regionally in the Canada West Universities Athl ...

throughout her studies, while at UBC she was awarded the Can-West Rookie of the Year as well as the U Sport Rookie of the Year. Having played in the backs as a teenager, she was deployed as primarily as a hooker for her university team, but also in the back row.

Club career

Carson began her senior club career when she moved from her native

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, in order to play for

Bristol Bears Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...

in the

Premier 15s Premiership Women's Rugby – officially known as Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby or The Allianz PWR – is an annual semi-professional women's rugby union club competition at the highest level of the English rugby union system, and is run ...

. After spending the 2018–19 season at Bristol, she transferred to

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

. Although her appearances were limited by an ankle injury which required surgery, as well as the disruption of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic, she returned to the club in early 2021, alongside fellow Canadian internationals Alysha Corrigan, Sophie de Goede and Emma Taylor. Following the end of the 2020–21 season, Carson signed a new deal with Saracens. She then enjoyed a breakthrough year during the 2021–22 season, becoming an established starter in various positions across the forward pack. This culminated in winning her first Premier 15s title, as she started the final for Saracens at

blindside flanker Flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Each team of 15 players includes two flankers, who play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside or openside flankers, numbers 6 and 7 respectively. The name comes from ...

and scored a try, en route to a 43–21 triumph against arch-rivals

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

. Saracens announced that Carson had left the club on 1 July 2023. On 4 August 2023, it was announced that Carson had signed for reigning Premier 15s champions Gloucester-Hartpury.

International career

Carson was identified by

Rugby Canada Rugby Canada is the national Sport governing body, governing body for the sport of rugby union in Canada. Rugby Canada was incorporated in 1974, and stems from the Canadian Rugby Football Union, a body established in 1884 that now governs amate ...

and brought into the international player pathway at the age of 17. She represented the Canada U18s team in England in 2016. That same year, she graduated up to the Canada U20s, returning to England for a three-match series, as she made a permanent transition to playing as a forward. In autumn 2018, Carson made her full international test debut for

, as a replacement hooker in a defeat to

. This was the first of three caps she earned with Canada's senior team. Ahead of the 2023 Women's Six Nations Championship, Carson received her first call-up to

, after switching her national allegiance, under

international rugby union eligibility rules Regulations relating to the eligibility of players to play for national teams in rugby union, both in the fifteen-a-side game and rugby sevens, are the responsibility of World Rugby, the governing body for the sport. Players' eligibility to repr ...

. She successfully applied for the transfer, having qualified to play for England by birthright through her English mother, and completed a three-year stand-down from her last cap for Canada. Carson was named in the starting line-up for her England debut, in the opening round fixture against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, as a loosehead prop. This made her the first rugby player to represent England, either for the women's or men's senior sides, after being capped by another nation. On 17 March 2025, she was selected in England's squad for the

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 ...

Personal life

Carson graduated from the

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in history. While still living in

, Carson coached the U16 and U18 teams in the

Fraser Valley The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from th ...

. Upon moving to

, she achieved a level 2 coaching certificate with the

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It prom ...

. Aside from her playing career with

, Carson is employed as a project officer at the club's charitable arm, the Saracens Foundation, and also a project assistant at the Hertfordshire Sports Partnership. In recognition of her efforts, she was nominated for the Community Coach of the Year Award by

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby ...

in 2022.

References

External links

Mackenzie Carson
at England Rugby
Mackenzie Carson
at Gloucester-Hartpury * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Mackenzie 1998 births Living people English female rugby union players Canadian female rugby union players England women's international rugby union players Sportspeople from Abbotsford, British Columbia Rugby union players from British Columbia Canada women's international rugby union players Canadian people of English descent English people of Canadian descent Saracens Women rugby players Bristol Bears Women players University of British Columbia alumni Rugby union props Gloucester-Hartpury Women players English rugby union coaches Canadian rugby union coaches Female rugby union coaches Canadian expatriate rugby union players in England British LGBTQ rugby union players 21st-century English sportswomen 21st-century Canadian sportswomen