Catherine Spencer is a former England International Rugby player and captain having won 63 caps for her country. She played in two World Cup finals, eight 6 Nations championships, as well as a number of Nations Cup competitions and European Cup tournaments. Catherine won England player of the year in 2006 and picked up the Rugby Union Writers Club Award in 2010 recognising outstanding achievements within the sport both on and off the pitch; in 2011 she won the Linda Utley Award marking outstanding contribution to sport away from the pitch.

Since international retirement in 2011 Catherine has developed her career using the skills and experience gained as an International athlete and captain. After 4 years working for a Leisure Trust and 3 and a half years working for the Rugby Football Union she left employment to set up and establish her own company called Inspiring Women.

Inspiring Women is a platform to encourage female speakers, mentors and ambassadors from the sports and adventure world to provide insight and share valuable lessons learnt with the business world.  Alongside this Catherine has undertaken a number of different media engagements including regular studio pundit work with Sky Sports throughout the Women’s Rugby World Cup and published articles for the Independent on Sunday and the Sunday Times.

Catherine is also Patron of the charity Tag Rugby Trust; a charity that she has been involved with since 2007 which works across a number of developing countries with the aim to “Build futures through rugby”. She feels passionately about helping to develop communities around the world using rugby as tool. Most recently Catherine and TRT are building their Female Inspiration through Rugby or FITR programme.