Key Facts
| Squad | Richmond |
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| Position | Back row |
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| Age | 19 |
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| Height | 1.72m (5'8") |
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| Weight | 81kg (12st 10lb) |
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| Caps | 6 |
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Until five years ago, Alexandra Matthews, the younger sister of Richmond club mate Fran, the 24-times capped England wing, played at inside centre before moving to the back row. Her Test debut was against France in 2011 at Châteaurenard where she scored a try in the first four minutes soon after playing in the non-cap game against the same opponents in Marseille.
Alex’s Sevens debut continued her cross-channel theme because last October she played at that level in the ‘non cap’ France International tournament at the Centre National de Rugby in Marcoussis with outstanding results. On the first day, she scored one of her side’s eight tries in a 42-0 win over Germany.
She marked her Sevens ‘cap debut’ with a try in the 48-0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago along the way to England becoming the World Series round two champions in Houston in February this year. Alex added four tries in her second tournament at Guangzhou, China the following month and was England’s second highest try-scorer there behind Kat Merchant with six. She took her touchdown total to seven overall with two in the Amsterdam tournament in May when her side finish fourth.
Educated at Watchetts Junior School and Kings International College, both in Camberley, Alex took A-levels in PE, Psychology and Biology at Hartpury College where she was on the AASE (Advance Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence) programme. She has since completed her first year of three at Roehampton University in Sports Psychology studies.
Alex was with Camberley RFC from 1997-2007 and spent a year with Reading RFC in 2008-09 between two spells with London Irish spanning 2007-08 and 2009-11. She is now playing for Richmond. Her mentors have been Bob Jones at Camberley and two contemporary England squad mates Danielle Waterman, while at Hartpury, and Maggie Alphonsi.
She played seven times for England U20, was London Irish Club Person of the Year in 2011 and Surrey Sportswoman of the Year in 2010. She has captained both London Irish and her county. Her travelling experience includes playing in the 2006 Dubai Sevens for a Surrey squad and going to California in 2011 with the England U20 squad.
Her top player is Jonah Lomu and the Kiwi link is extended because one of her favourite games involved playing for the full 80 minutes in the 21-7 win over the New Zealand Black Ferns in the second Test at Esher in November 2011. Twickenham Stadium remains the ground she likes best.
Last updated: May 20, 2013
