Danielle Waterman

Danielle Sian “Nolli” Waterman was born on January 20, 1985, in Taunton, England. Her father, Jim Waterman, played over 450 games for Bath Rugby. Her rugby journey began while her family was in New Zealand, where she played with boys at Palmerston North High School. Upon returning to England, she continued playing at Minehead Barbarians RFC. Waterman was selected for the England Senior Academy at age 15. In 2003, at 18, she became England’s youngest female Test player, making her debut against Ireland.

Waterman’s career saw significant milestones, including winning the award for England’s Most Promising Player in 2006. She served as vice-captain when England secured the 2012 Women’s European Championship. After earning silver medals at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, she achieved a World Champion title at the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup, scoring a try in the final match against Canada. Following this, she received Gloucestershire’s Professional Sports Personality of 2014, and the English team was awarded the BBC Sports Personality Team of the Year Award. In 2014, she signed a professional contract with England 7s to prepare for the 2016 Summer Olympics. After overcoming a knee injury and a broken cheekbone, Waterman returned in April 2016 at the Canada Women’s Sevens, where she was named to the tournament’s dream team.

Waterman represented Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, where the team finished fourth. She retired from international rugby in 2018, having earned 82 caps and scored 47 tries. She continued playing for Wasps Ladies FC until her official retirement from professional rugby in September 2020. Her post-playing career includes commentary work for ITV, where she was the first female rugby commentator for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Six Nations Championship. She also co-hosts the “Try Hards Podcast” about women’s rugby and was part of the 2021 documentary “Finding Her Voice.”