Rachel Shankland (born 26 October 1991) is a Scottish

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 from

Cumnock Cumnock (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cumnag'') is a town and former civil parish located in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The town sits at the confluence of the Glaisnock Water and the Lugar Water. There are three neighbouring housing projects which lie j ...

who has played for the Scottish Women's team since 2020, including in the 2020 Women's Six Nations and

2021 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship was the 20th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby union competition featuring England women's national rugby union team, England, France women's national rugby union te ...

Club career

Shankland joined Stirling County in 2016 and has played for the side as a winger since she made the transition from playing for her university.

International career

Shankland first played for Scotland in the disrupted 2020 Women's Six Nations Championship. The winger scored a late try, which was converted by Helen Nelson, in her debut appearance for Scotland against

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in a match that saw her side draw with their opponents 13-13. This was considered significant progress for the Scottish team, whose opponents were the 2018 Women's Six Nations victors. In an interview with her local newspaper, The Cumnock Chronicle, she said of the experience,''“It was incredible. The whole thing of being selected and named in the starting squad right through to getting the draw and it being a victory for us, it was quite surreal and really exciting. It was hugely positive for the team as a whole and really exciting in terms of the progress we’ve made and how much we’re moving forward.”'' The side returned to action with Shankland a new addition after COVID-19 disrupted the year's championship. In the

, she played in the back row alongside Megan Gaffney and Chloe Rollie in the opening match against

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. She was named as a replacement for the closing match against

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 ...

, which Scotland won.

Personal life

Shankland comes from Cumnock and went to school at Cumnock Academy. She first took up rugby at

Stirling University The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airthr ...

, after a friend introduced her to the sport. She says of the decision, ''“I walked into it completely oblivious to what I was walking into, but I loved it from that first session and never looked back."'' Shankland lives in

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and works part time as a social worker alongside her rugby training.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shankland, Rachel Living people 1991 births Scottish female rugby union players People from Cumnock Rugby union players from East Ayrshire Rugby union wings Rugby union centres People educated at Cumnock Academy Scotland women's international rugby union players 21st-century Scottish sportswomen