Anna Caplice (born 13 September 1989) is an Irish rugby player from Mallow, Co Cork. She plays in the back row for English club Harlequins, Munster Rugby and the Ireland women's national rugby union team. She is a qualified language teacher and rugby coach.
| Date of birth | 13 September 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Cork, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 76 kg (168 lb; 12 st 0 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Club career
editCaplice (pronounced Cape-less) had her first game of rugby when she was 17 with Mallow Rugby Club. She was soon selected for Munster underage development squads and has played for them at every level.
Her first senior club with Limerick side UL Bohemians. When she moved to London to study she joined Richmond RFC and spent four years with them before transferring to Harlequins ahead of the 2019/20 Premier 15s season.[1] Caplice, who joined English side Gloucester-Hartpury in 2022 playing one season.
After a short time out of the club game she returned for the 2023/24 season signing for Stade Rochelais Women as player/coach.
International career
editCaplice's first international experience was with the Ireland women's national rugby sevens team. She first played for them in the 2013-2014 World Sevens Series in Dubai.[2]
She made her debut for the Ireland women's national rugby union team, against Canada, in the 2016 Autumn Internationals.[1]
She was selected for Ireland for the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup squad.[2]
She made her Six Nations debut, against France, in the 2018 Women's Six Nations where she also started against Italy and was a replacement against France.[3]
In the 2019 Women's Six Nations she started against Scotland and Italy and was a replacement against England, France and Wales.
In the 2020 Women's Six Nations she was Ireland's starting Number Eight against Scotland, Wales and England but did not play in the rescheduled game versus Italy in October. She was selected in the Ireland squad for the 2021 Women's Six Nations but did not play.[4]
Personal life
editCaplice has a languages degree from the University of Limerick and a post-grad in modern languages from St Mary's College, Twickenham. She is a qualified teacher and rugby coach. She has travelled extensively and lived in Argentina, Vienna and Japan.
She works part-time, as a development officer, for Harlequins RFC. She plays several musical instruments, including the ukelele, and is a keen angler.
She is an ambassador for Rugby Players Ireland 'Tackle Your Feelings' campaign. In 2020 she spoke out about the trolling of female rugby players on social media.[3]
Honours
edit- A member of the 2019 Barbarians team
References
edit- ^ Duffy, Emma. "Being able to sing that with your Irish teammates is special so I always try to give it 110%". The42. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ "Connacht Rugby | Encouraging Start for Ireland Women in Dubai". Connacht Rugby. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
- ^ Kennedy, Ciarán. "'Women's rugby is a place where you can be anything you want to be'". The42. Retrieved 3 May 2021.