Rachael Boyle (née Small; born 20 December 1991) is a Scottish

international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who currently plays as

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Hibernian in the

Scottish Women's Premier League The Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) is the highest level of league competition in women's football in Scotland. Its two divisions are SWPL (previously styled as ''SWPL 1'') and SWPL 2. The league was formed when the Premier Division of th ...

Career

Boyle grew up in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

and represented Scotland at schools' level in 2005 while a pupil at

Northfield Academy Northfield Academy is a secondary school in Northfield, Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish c ...

. She later progressed through the national under-17 and under-19 squads, captaining the latter in the

2010 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship The UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, UEFA Women's U-19 Championship 2010 Final Tournament was held in Macedonia (country), Macedonia between 24 May and 5 June 2010. Players born after 1 January 1991 were eligible to participate in this competiti ...

finals in Macedonia. She made her full debut for the

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 ...

women's team in July 2010 against

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. At club level, Boyle began with her hometown team, Aberdeen Ladies before moving to Forfar Farmington in 2010. She also attended the

Scottish FA The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to s ...

's North Regional Football Academy in Aberdeen. In July 2013, Boyle returned to Aberdeen after Forfar failed to make the top six at the SWPL mid-season split. Boyle joined Hibernian Ladies in July 2016, with her fiancé

Martin Boyle Martin Callie Boyle (born 25 April 1993) is a professional association football player who plays for club Hibernian. Born in Scotland, he represents the Australia national team. He is a right sided winger who is also capable of playing as a ...

playing for the Edinburgh club's men's side at the same time. After winning the

Scottish Women's Cup The Women's Scottish Cup is the national knockout cup competition for women's football in Scotland. First held in 1970–71 and known as the Scottish Women's FA Cup, the competition was owned and managed by Scottish Women's Football (SWF), an ...

in 2016 and 2017, and the

SWPL Cup The Scottish Women's Premier League Cup, currently known as the Sky Sports Cup due to sponsorship and commonly shortened to the SWPL Cup, is a league cup competition in women's football in Scotland. The cup is open only to the teams in the Scotti ...

in 2017, she missed much of the 2018 season due to pregnancy, and gave birth to a daughter in September 2018. She and Martin Boyle married in June 2019. She was recalled to the Scotland squad in November 2019. Due to the upheaval it would cause to their daughter, Rachael opted to stay in Edinburgh when Martin left Hibs to play in Saudi Arabia in January 2022. Boyle returned to play well in February 2022,a year after the birth of a daughter. She scored twice for Hibs and played two games before she damaged her anterior cruciate ligament. She was still at home in March 2024 complaining that she had not played for so long.

Career statistics

International appearances

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Rachael 1991 births Living people People educated at Northfield Academy Scottish women's footballers Scotland women's international footballers Hibernian W.F.C. players Footballers from Aberdeen Women's association football defenders Forfar Farmington F.C. players Scottish Women's Premier League players Aberdeen F.C. Women players Scotland women's youth international footballers 21st-century Scottish sportswomen