Bryony Cleall
Date of birth | 12 June 1992 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | Norwich, Norfolk, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 108 kg (17 st 0 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notable relative(s) | Poppy Cleall (twin sister) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Bryony Cleall (born 12 June 1992) is an English rugby union player.[1] She plays for Saracens Women at club level and is a member of the England Women's Rugby Team having earned her first cap in the 2019 Women's Six Nations.[2]
International career[]
She made her England debut against Ireland in the 2019 Women’s Six Nations when she came on as a replacement and scored a try.[3]
On the strength of this and her performance at Saracens, she was awarded a professional contract for the 2019/20 season.[2] One week after her England debut, Cleall broke her leg which meant a lengthy gap between her first and second cap her country.[4]
Her second appearance for England came in the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship,[3] where she scored a try in the opening match.[5][6][7]
Club career[]
Cleall currently plays for Saracens Women alongside her twin sister and England teammate, Poppy Cleall, having joined the club in 2016.[1] Cleall was awarded the club’s Supporters’ Player of the Year award for the 2017/18 season whilst winning back to back Tyrrells Premier 15s title.[8]
Injuries[]
Cleall's career has been blighted by several major injuries and illnesses. At 17, she suffered a serious knee injury while preparing for the England U20s trials. She underwent four knee operations for a torn anterior cruciate ligament which kept her from playing rugby for five years.[9]
When she was added to the starting line up for the 2021 Six Nations side, she found it hard to believe as injuries had meant it had been a long time coming. She said, “I did have to ask if it was an April fools because the team came out on 1 April. I couldn’t even put my feelings into words.”[3]
Early life and education[]
Born in Norwich, she attended Burgate School and Sixth Form in Hampshire and went on to study Sports Science and Geography at Loughborough University.[1]
She and Poppy first played rugby at an after-school club aged seven. She went on to play at Ellingwood and Ringwood RFC, as well as Salisbury, Wimborne and Bristol Bears.[1]
She returned to the game in 2015 when she started a Masters at Exeter University (gaining a PGCE in Physical Education and an MSc in Educational research),where she played under former England scrum-half and captain Jo Yapp.[2][1]
Cleall is also Director of Rugby at Harris City Academy Crystal Palace. She also created the first girls state school rugby academy in partnership with her club, Saracens. [1]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f "Bryony Cleall". Saracens. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ^ a b c "RFU". www.englandrugby.com. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ a b c ""We're so proud of her": Bryony Cleall completes fairytale comeback". Six Nations Rugby. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ^ Rowan, Kate (4 April 2021). "England victory gives Cleall sisters cause for twin celebration". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "Fairytale England comeback for Bryony Cleall". Ham & High. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ^ "Women's Six Nations: England v Scotland - Bryony Cleall makes 'comeback to end all comebacks'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ^ Chaudry, Ziad (6 April 2021). "Fairytale England comeback for Bryony Cleall". Hampstead Highgate Express. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "Bryony Cleall". Women's Rugby Agency. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "'The comeback to end all comebacks'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
External links[]
- This article has no properties for sports databases in Wikidata
- 1992 births
- Living people
- Female rugby union players
- England women's international rugby union players
- English female rugby union players
- Rugby union players from Norwich