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| Born | (1979-12-18)18 December 1979 (age 45) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 64 kg (141 lb; 10 st 1 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ashleigh Hewson (born 18 December 1979) is a formerAustralianrugby union player and captain of the Australian national women's team, theWallaroos. She was a member of the Wallaroos squad at threeRugby World Cups —2010,2014 and2017.
Before representing Australia in rugby, Hewson had been named in theAustralia women's national soccer team, she also excelled intouch, athletics andcricket internationally.[1]
Hewson made her international debut forAustralia againstSamoa in 2009.[2][1] She was a member of theWallaroos squad at the2010 Rugby World Cup that finished in their highest placing of third.[1]
She scored a try for the Wallaroos in their opening match of the2014 Rugby World Cup againstSouth Africa.[3][4] She was the 5th highest points scorer of the tournament with 39 points, her side finished in 7th place.[1]
She captained the Wallaroos for the first time in their three match tour of New Zealand in 2016.[1] Despite a record 67–3 loss to theBlack Ferns in the first game of theLaurie O'Reilly Cup, she was a stand out for her side in the secondtest.[5]
In October 2016, She was named as Australia's women's XVs player of the year, taking out the prestigiousJohn Eales medal.[6][2]
Hewson captained the Wallaroos side in their tests againstCanada,England andNew Zealand in June 2017.[2][7][8] She later led the Wallaroos at the2017 Rugby World Cup inIreland.[9][7]
In 2018, She kicked an extra-time goal to help theNSW Waratahs win the inauguralSuper W Grand Final against theQueensland Reds.[10][11]
She returned for another season in 2019 and led the team unbeaten, into a second consecutive home Grand Final against Queensland atLeichhardt Oval.[10] They narrowly defeated Queensland 8–5 to win their second Super W title.[12]
Hewson was a prison guard inSydney for 10 years and worked as a Services and Program officer with offenders who have an intellectual disability.[13][9]
