Statistics
| Squad | Bristol |
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| Position | Number 8 |
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| Age | 32 |
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| Height | 1.79m (5'10") |
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| Weight | 90kg (14st 2lb) |
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| Caps | 62 |
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Nothing was more important to former skipper Catherine Spencer than captaining England in the 2010 WRWC in which her side eventually lost 13-10 in the final to New Zealand after a valiant performance in front of a record crowd of 13,000. In her reign as captain she also led England to three consecutive Six Nations and Nations Cup championships.
Born in Ashford, Kent, she attained a joint Honours Degree in Philosophy and Sociology at Cardiff University and rugby runs through her family. Both of her brothers play the game with the older one, Martin, a back row forward appearing for Hope Valley in the Peak District of Derbyshire.
Catherine, who now works as a Women's Rugby Development Manager for the RFUW, led England from 2007 onwards. Her fiftieth cap was in – guess what – the triumphant match against New Zealand at Twickenham in November 2009 when England beat them for the first time in eight years. She scored her eighteenth Test try in the 2010 WRWC semi final victory over Australia at Twickenham Stoop and appeared for the sixtieth in the 68-5 win over Italy at Esher in this season’s second RBS 6 Nations match.
Catherine’s first tentative rugby steps were with Folkestone at the age of five and there she remained until 2006 before moving to Worcester, Bath and currently Bristol, where she lives. She continued: “The turning point for me was after not being great at the game when I was playing or Folkestone minis I caught the ball and just ran. At that point, I realised I might be OK at rugby after all.”
She has been England's Player of the Year while 2010 brought the Rugby Union Writers' award and the RFUW Linda Uttley award.