Bethan Dainton
| Date of birth | 12 April 1989 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Caerphilly, Glamorgan | ||
| Height | 1.67 metres (5.5 ft) | ||
| Weight | 68 kilograms (10.7 st) | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Current status | |||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Current team | Bristol Ladies/Newport Gwent Dragons | ||
| Amateur clubs | |||
| Years | Club / team | ||
| Bristol Ladies Newport Gwent Dragons | |||
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2016-present | Wales | 5 | |
| correct as of 2 May 2016. | |||
Bethan Dainton (born 12 April 1989) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays winger for the Bristol Ladies/Newport Gwent Dragons and the Wales women's national rugby union team. She won her first international cap against Ireland in the 2016 Women's Six Nations Championship. She is enlisted in the British Army, and with the 39th Regiment Royal Artillery she was deployed to Afghanistan in 2013, and was awarded the Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan.
Early life and army career
Bethan Dainton was born in Caerphilly, Glamorgan on 1 September 1985. As of 2016, her official Wales Rugby Union biography states that she is 1.67 metres (5.5 ft) tall, and weighs 68 kilograms (10.7 st).[1] She is a fan of association football, and follows Cardiff City.[2]
She joined the British Army, and was posted to the 74th Battery of the 39th Regiment Royal Artillery. Over the winter of 2013-14, she was posted to Afghanistan. At a ceremony in Newcastle in March 2013, Dainton was one of 71 soldiers who were awarded their Operational Service Medals for Afghanistan.[2]
Rugby career
She hadn't played rugby union until 2015, when Gemma Rowland invited her to play for the Newport Gwent Dragons women's rugby sevens team. She had previously competed in athletics for the Cwmbran Harriers. At her first game for the Dragons, Welsh national coach Rhys Edwards was present and later said he had taken note when at her first touch of the ball, she ran 80 metres (87 yd) for a try.[3]
Dainton began to play for Bristol Ladies and the Dragons, and after Ffion Bowen was injured in January 2016, she was called up to the Wales women's national rugby union team for the 2016 Women's Six Nations Championship. She won her first cap in the opening game against Ireland.[3][1]
References
- 1 2 "Bethan Dainton". Wales Rugby Union. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- 1 2 "Soldier Bethan can’t wait to see City game at home!". Wales Online. 22 March 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- 1 2 Kirwan, Chris (9 March 2016). "Wales wing Bethan Dainton proving to be a fast learner after 'whirlwind' year". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 2 May 2016.