Statistics
| Squad | Darlington Mowden Parks Sharks |
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| Position | Fly half |
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| Age | 26 |
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| Height | 1.67m (5'6") |
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| Weight | 70kg (11st 0lb) |
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| Caps | 51 |
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As England’s captain, playmaker and goal-kicker, Katy McLean has multiple responsibilities but made light of them when leading the side to a sixth consecutive RBS 6 Nations title in March last year, together with a fifth Grand Slam in six years and to another Nations Cup triumph last August.
More major accolades came when she was again in charge when England beat the Black Ferns, the World champions, 10-0 at Twickenham in November and 21-7 at Esher three days later. It was a groundbreaking series win against New Zealand.
In the first match, she converted a try by her vice captain Maggie Alphonsi after 30 minutes and then dropped a goal just before three quarter time. Katy scored England’s second try in the next game at Esher and also kicked two penalty goals. She celebrated her fiftieth cap in the third Test that produced an 8-8 draw.
Katy had already put together a long list of rugby achievements before being appointed to take charge. She had already landed the second half penalty goal that brought her side an 11-10 win over France in March 2010 to clinch the Championship and the Grand Slam. Being the England Coaches’ Player of the Season for 2009-10 is another of her accolades.
A Darlington Mowden Park Sharks player, she also captained England against Kazakhstan in the 2010 WRWC pool match and remarkably, landed all her seven conversion attempts. She added three more successful kicks against the USA, a conversion against Australia and a conversion and penalty goal against New Zealand in the final and has since reached 296 Test points.
Katy’s breakdown is seven tries, 99 conversions, 19 penalty goals and two dropped goals in 50 matches after graduating from the England U19, Academy and A teams. Her initial playing days were when seven for Westoe since when her family have had a massive influence on her rugby that led to her becoming the South Tyneside Sports Personality of the Year. Katy’s sixth Test try was in the opening match of the 2011 Nations Cup when her side beat the United States 15-11 at Appleby College, Ontario in early August and she led England to a resounding 47-0 win over Scotland in the opening match of the 2012 RBS 6 Nations Championship.
Father David was a scrum half and encouraged South Shields-born Katy to play in that role before she switched to fly half at the age of ten. She was schooled at Mowbray Junior, Mortimer Comprehensive and Sunderland University where she gained a BSc in Sport Studies.
Her next move was starting general teaching practice in September but she has worked for the SAFC Foundation, a charity of Sunderland Football Club. Her other roles include being a family learning area co-ordinator based in primary schools and her mentor is and England Women’s head coach Gary Street.
Not surprisingly, her two top players are both fly halves and prolific goal-kickers. All Black Dan Carter is one and the other? He’s Jonny Wilkinson, of course.
Last updated: February 07, 2012