Date of birth | 28 July 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | Swansea, South Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 77.3 kg (170 lb; 12 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Morriston Comprehensive School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | Cardiff Metropolitan University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gwen Crabb (born 28 June 1999) is a Welsh Rugby Union player. She plays second row for Wales internationally and for Gloucester-Hartpury in the Premier 15s.[1][2]
Crabb began her sporting career as a goalkeeper in football – her main sports pursuit from the age of four until her mid-teens. Her skills were such that she was even selected for the Wales under-17s squad.[3]
In an interview with WRU.Wales, she explained her decision to switch sports:
"As soon as I started playing rugby at about 15, it was a no-brainer. I really enjoyed the family atmosphere and ethos in rugby. And I can’t lie – I really enjoyed the physical contact, too. As a goalkeeper, the handling skills transferred really nicely across to rugby – spatial awareness and things like that. The line-out quickly became my thing as well.”[4]
Crabb then played for both Pencoed Phoenix under-18s and Hendy under-18s before joining Worcester Warriors in 2019. In June 2020, she signed with her current club, Gloucester-Hartpury.[5]
Following a year out due to a knee injury, Crabb made her international debut against Hong Kong in the 2018 autumn series held at Cardiff Arm's Park.[6][7] She has since represented the Wales women's squad at each subsequent Six Nations Championship, and has won 22 caps to date.[8] She competed at the 2021 Six Nations Championship.[8]
Crabb is one of 31 Welsh players who have received full-time contracts as of January 2022.[9] She was named in Wales 2022 Six Nations squad.[10] She was in the starting line-up in every match of the Six Nations tournament.[11][12][13][14][15]
Crabb scored the only try in Wales warm-up match against England ahead of the World Cup.[16][17] She was selected in Wales squad for the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.[18][19]
Born in Swansea, Crabb attended Ynystawe Primary School and Morriston Comprehensive before joining the Llandarcy Academy of Sport to develop her rugby skills.[3] She then moved to Cardiff Metropolitan University in 2018 to study strength conditioning, rehabilitation and massage.[3] She balances her role as personal trainer and online coach alongside her rugby career.[6][3]