Rachel Susan Rowe (born 13 September 1992) is a Welsh professional

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who plays as a forward for

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club

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and the Wales national team. Rowe began her senior career with

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

before joining

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

in 2013. After two seasons, she joined

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in February 2015, initially combining her playing career with a job in the prison service. She turned professional later the same year after helping the club win promotion to the FA Women's Super League. She made her international debut for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in 2017.

Early life

Rowe lived in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, Wales where she began playing football at a young age. Her father suffered from

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

and she later commented that their "relationship deteriorated" due to his drinking before his death when Rowe was 21. She took a job at HM Prison Swansea as an Operational Support Grade (OSG) and later fulfilled the same role at HM Prison Cardiff. She later enrolled on a business management course provided by the Welsh Government.

Club career

Rowe initially played for a local boys youth team but later stated that "nobody wanted to play with me". She was spotted by a scout from Swansea City Ladies and played for the club's youth academy. However, she began her senior career with the club's local rivals

and won the inaugural Welsh Premier Women's Football League title during the 2012–13 season, scoring in their decisive 5–2 victory over Wrexham in the final game of the season. She returned to Swansea during the summer window soon after. However, she suffered a broken leg while playing against her former team during the first half of the following campaign. In February 2015, Rowe joined WSL 2 side

with assistant manager Kelly Chambers describing her as possessing "an abundance of competitiveness along with her pace, strength and work rate". Despite the move, Rowe remained semi-professional during her first year, making the 300-mile round trip from her home in Swansea to training three times every week while remaining in her job with the prison service. In December 2015, she signed a

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contract with Reading following the club's

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FA Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...

. Following promotion, Rowe converted to playing as a full-back for a period, having originally joined the club as a winger. At the start of the 2018–19 season, she featured in a 1–0 victory over

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. However, the following month, she suffered an

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in a

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that ended her season after a single appearance. Despite her injury setback, she was offered a new contract with the club at the end of the campaign. On 7 November 2020, Rowe played her 100th game for Reading. In March 2021, Rowe signed a new three-year contract with Reading. Rowe left Reading at the end of the 2022–23 season following their relegation to the

. On 21 July 2023, Rowe signed for

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 ...

club

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. On 14 June 2024, she signed for Women's Championship club

International career

Having previously represented Wales at under-17 and under-19 level, Rowe made her debut for the senior side in Wales' first

UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying The UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying competition was a women's football competition that determined the 15 teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Netherlands in the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 final tournament. A total of 46 UEFA member nat ...

match against

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starting in a 3–0 defeat in

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. She made her international debut despite still working within the prison service. In 2022 she earned her 50th cap in a FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 qualifying playoff tie against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Career statistics

Club

International goals

Honours

Individual

Goal of the Month: October 2022

Rangers

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 ...

: 2023–24

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Rachel 1992 births Living people Wales women's international footballers Welsh women's footballers 21st-century Welsh sportswomen Footballers from Swansea Women's Super League players Scottish Women's Premier League players Women's association football wingers Women's association football forwards Cardiff City Ladies F.C. players Swansea City Ladies F.C. players Reading F.C. Women players Rangers W.F.C. players Southampton F.C. Women players