Coreen Grant

Coreen Grant
Date of birth (1998-01-30) 30 January 1998
Place of birthEdinburgh, Scotland
Height1.61 m (5 ft 3+1⁄2 in)
Weight63 kg (139 lb; 9 st 13 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Outside centre
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016-2017 Darlington Mowden Park Sharks 4 (0)
2017-2018 Melbourne Unicorns ()
2018-2019 Darlington Mowden Park Sharks 5 (5)
2019-2020 Saracens II 8 (20)
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2020–2025 Saracens 35 (70)
2025– Harlequins ()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
2024 Glasgow Warriors 1 (0)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2020–present  Scotland 1 (0)

Coreen Grant (born 30 January 1998) is a Scottish rugby player from Edinburgh. She first played for the side in the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.[1]

Club career

Aged 16, Grant joined Murrayfield Wanderers, winning the Brewin Dolphin U18 Cup in 2014 and 2015.[2] During her time there playing at under-18 levels she played alongside fellow Scottish national players Rhona Lloyd and Lisa Thomson.[2]

She studied at Durham University and played for the university team.[3][2] She captained Durham University to BUCS semi-finals in 2016–2017 season, and acted as Vice Captain in the 2018–2019 season, where the team reached the BUCS final at Twickenham - the first time the university had made it this far in the championship.[4][2]

During her studies at Durham, she first played in the premiers club-level rugby for Darlington Mowden Park Sharks (2016–2019), playing in the Tyrell Premiership.[5][6]

While studying at Durham she took a year abroad in Melbourne, where she played for clubs Melbourne Unicorns, winning the Victoria State Cup with Melbourne Unicorns.[7][6]

Grant then signed her first club contract for Saracens Women in the Premier 15's in the 2020–21 season.[8]

While studying at Cambridge University from 2019 to 2020, she also played for the university team, as well as playing for Saracens.[9] At Twickenham in the 2019 Varsity Match for Cambridge University, she came to prominence, scoring the winning try in the 77th minute to win the game.[4] The match was broadcast live for the first time on ITV.[4] Grant said of the occasion, "Winning a Blue was about seeing women's sport recognised on equal standing, played on the same day and pitch as the men."[4] The match and the team's victory was also reported by The Times, which named Grant as the star of the match.[10]

In May 2025, Harlequins Women announced that they had signed Grant for the 2025–26 Premiership Women's Rugby season.[11]

International career

Grant represented Scotland at U20 level in a match against Belgium Ladies in 2016.[12][6]

She received her first call-up to train with Scotland Women Premier XVs at the start of the 2019/2020 season, alongside fellow Saracens player Jodie Rettie.[13][8]

Her first match day call-up came in February 2020 in the rearranged match against England in the 2020 Women's Six Nations, where she remained on the bench.[14] During lockdown in 2020, she trained with the team at Edinburgh, her hometown.[1][15]

In the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship, she made her debut off the bench in Scotland's home fixture against Italy to receive her first cap.[14][16][6]

She was selected in the Scottish side for the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup.[17][18]

Personal life

Grant first played rugby at Royal High School, Edinburgh aged 11.[1][14] During her time there, she was coached by ex-Scotland player Graham Shiel.[14]

During a three-year stint in the States, living in Pasadena in Los Angeles with her family, she briefly tried American football, before returning to the UK and becoming more serious about rugby.[2]

Grant completed a master's degree at Corpus Christi, Cambridge University, in Philosophy (MPhil), Criticism and Culture in 2020 and studied English Literature at Durham University (2015–2019).[4][2]

Honours

  • Player of the Match in the Women's Varsity Match in December 2019[19]
  • Player of the Match award at Murrayfield in the U18 Scottish Cup Final in 2015[2]
  • Winner Brewin Dolphin U18 Cup in 2014 and 2015[2]
  • Winner Victoria State Cup in 2018 [6]

References

  1. ^ a b c March 2021, Gary Heatly Wednesday 31. "New kids on the block: Introducing Scotland's uncapped quartet". Talking Rugby Union. Retrieved 3 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h November 2019, Gary Heatly Tuesday 12. "Grant focused on a return trip to Twickenham". Talking Rugby Union. Retrieved 3 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Class Notes". Durham University. May 2024. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e "What Does A Blue Mean To You? A New(comer's) Perspective". Varsity Online. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  5. ^ "StackPath". www.mowdenpark.com. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Coreen Grant". Scottish Rugby. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  7. ^ Max. "Coreen Grant". Women's Rugby Data : Number 1 for Women's Rugby. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  8. ^ a b Mahmood, Abdullah (24 January 2020). "Grant and Rettie called up to Scotland squad". Saracens. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  9. ^ Heatly, Gary (12 December 2019). "Scottish centre Coreen Grant scores dramatic Varsity Match winner". The Offside Line. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  10. ^ Lowe, Alex. "Fergus Jemphrey and Coreen Grant star in Light Blue double". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  11. ^ Peddy, Chris (21 May 2025). "Scotland's Grant joins Harlequins from Saracens". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Scotland Women U20 squad bound for Belgium". Scottish Rugby Union. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Cambridge University RUFC Varsity Match hero Coreen Grant earns Scotland call-up for Women's Six Nations". Cambridge Independent. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d Coreen Grant on her Scotland debut, 27 April 2021, retrieved 3 June 2021
  15. ^ "Training in Lockdown: What have we learned?". Varsity Online. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Scotland make four changes for Italy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Scotland squad named for Women's Rugby World Cup 2025". Scottish Rugby Union. 7 August 2025. Archived from the original on 7 August 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  18. ^ "Scotland names RWC 2025 squad". Rugby World Cup 2025 England. 8 July 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  19. ^ "RUGBY UNION: Double despair for Oxford University in Varsity Match". Oxford Mail. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
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