| Date of birth | (1996-02-15)15 February 1996 (age 29) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Pontypridd, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 90 kg (198 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Swansea University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Physics teacher, rugby player | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Natalia John (born 15 February 1996) is aWelsh Rugby Union player who playssecond row for theWales women's national rugby union team andBristol Bears. She made her debut for the Wales national squad in 2018 and represented them at the2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.
John began playing rugby in 2014 while studying atSwansea University. She first played with her local team,Bonymaen, before signing with premiership teamSwansea RFC in 2016.[1] In 2017 John was selected to play for theOspreys, where her impressive performance led to a call-up to Wales' autumn series training squad later that year.[2] She signed with her current club, Bristol Bears, in 2020.[3]
Following her call-up to the training squad in 2017, John was selected for the2018 Women's Six Nations Championship team, where she made her international debut against Scotland.[4] She has since represented the Wales women's team at each subsequent Six Nations Championship.
In 2019, she was part of the first Welsh side to face British invitational rugby union clubBarbarians FC, at aPrincipality Stadium double-header in Cardiff.[5]
John was selected inWales squad for the2021 Rugby World Cup inNew Zealand.[6][7] She was named in the Welsh side for the2025 Six Nations Championship in March.[8][9]
John attended Welsh language secondary schoolYsgol Gyfun Gwyr before later studying materials engineering at Swansea University, where she graduated with a degree in 2017.[10]
She was the second in her family to face the Barbarians wearing a number 4 shirt. Her father, Gareth John, played forPenarth in the final Good Friday fixture against the invitational side in March 1986.[5]
John is a qualified physics teacher but is now a full-time rugby player for Wales and is one of the first twelve women to have a professional contract for Wales.[11]