Rachel Rowe
{{Short description|Welsh footballer (born 1992)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Rachel Rowe
| fullname = Rachel Susan Rowe{{cite web |title=List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/06/2018 and 30/06/2018 |url=http://www.thefa.com/-/media/files/thefaportal/governance-docs/registrations/june-2018.ashx |publisher=The FA |accessdate=3 December 2018 |format=PDF}}
| image = 20150922 1827 W AUT WAL 3982.jpg
| image_size = 200
| caption = Rowe for Wales in 2015
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1992|09|13}}
| birth_place =
| height =
| position = Winger
| currentclub = Southampton
| clubnumber =
| youthyears1 =
| youthclubs1 =
| years1 = 2012–2013
| clubs1 = Cardiff City
| caps1 =
| goals1 =
| years2 = 2013–2015
| clubs2 = Swansea City
| caps2 =
| goals2 =
| years3 = 2015–2023
| clubs3 = Reading
| caps3 = 118
| goals3 = 14
| years4 = 2023–2024
| clubs4 = Rangers
| caps4 = 19
| goals4 = 4
| years5 = 2024–
| clubs5 = Southampton
| caps5 = 14
| goals5 = 0
| nationalyears1 = 2010–2011
| nationalteam1 = Wales U19
| nationalcaps1 = 6
| nationalgoals1 = 1
| nationalyears2 = 2015–
| nationalteam2 = Wales
| nationalcaps2 = 74
| nationalgoals2 = 8
| club-update = 29 May 2025
| nationalteam-update = 29 May 2025
}}
Rachel Susan Rowe (born 13 September 1992) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Championship club Southampton and the Wales national team.
Rowe began her senior career with Cardiff City before joining Swansea City in 2013. After two seasons, she joined Reading in February 2015, initially combining her playing career with a job in the prison service. She turned professional later the same year after helping the club win promotion to the FA Women's Super League. She made her international debut for Wales in 2017.
Early life
Rowe lived in Swansea, Wales where she began playing football at a young age. Her father suffered from alcoholism and she later commented that their "relationship deteriorated" due to his drinking before his death when Rowe was 21.{{cite web |url=https://shekicks.net/kicking-through-mental-health-with-rachel-rowe-wales-reading-fc-women/ |title='Kicking Through Mental Health' with Rachel Rowe (Wales & Reading FC Women) |publisher=She Kicks |last=O'Neill |first=Jen |date=15 March 2019 |accessdate=7 July 2019}} She took a job at HM Prison Swansea as an Operational Support Grade (OSG) and later fulfilled the same role at HM Prison Cardiff. She later enrolled on a business management course provided by the Welsh Government.{{cite news |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/women-heart-incredible-welsh-football-14489213 |title=The women at the heart of an incredible Welsh football tale unfolding right now – and the fascinating stories behind them |work=WalesOnline |publisher=Media Wales |last=Coleman |first=Tom |date=5 April 2018 |accessdate=7 July 2019}}
Club career
Rowe initially played for a local boys youth team but later stated that "nobody wanted to play with me". She was spotted by a scout from Swansea City Ladies and played for the club's youth academy. However, she began her senior career with the club's local rivals Cardiff City and won the inaugural Welsh Premier Women's Football League title during the 2012–13 season, scoring in their decisive 5–2 victory over Wrexham in the final game of the season.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/22591385 |title=Cardiff City Women win Womens Welsh Premier League title |publisher=BBC Sport |date=19 May 2013 |accessdate=7 July 2019}} She returned to Swansea during the summer window soon after. However, she suffered a broken leg while playing against her former team during the first half of the following campaign.
In February 2015, Rowe joined WSL 2 side Reading with assistant manager Kelly Chambers describing her as possessing "an abundance of competitiveness along with her pace, strength and work rate".{{cite news |url=http://reading.fawsl.com/news/rowe_joins_royal_women.html#rzPDvgOOQ12AEsQr.97 |title=Rowe Joins Royal Women |publisher=Reading F.C. Women |date=19 February 2015 |accessdate=7 July 2019 |archive-date=25 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225170250/http://reading.fawsl.com/news/rowe_joins_royal_women.html#rzPDvgOOQ12AEsQr.97 |url-status=dead }} Despite the move, Rowe remained semi-professional during her first year, making the 300-mile round trip from her home in Swansea to training three times every week while remaining in her job with the prison service.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-45343796 |title=Wales women 'can spark more pay' for female footballers |publisher=BBC News |last=Morgan |first=Kate |date=30 August 2018 |accessdate=7 July 2019}} In December 2015, she signed a professional contract with Reading following the club's promotion to FA Women's Super League.{{cite news|title=Reading Women: Rachel Rowe and Lois Roche sign contracts|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35027292|accessdate=6 February 2016|publisher=BBC Sport|date=7 December 2015}} Following promotion, Rowe converted to playing as a full-back for a period, having originally joined the club as a winger.{{cite news |url=https://www.wokinghampaper.co.uk/reading-fc-women-defender-rachel-rowe-eyes-fa-cup-success-after-life-changing-promotion-to-wsl-1/ |title=Reading FC Women defender Rachel Rowe eyes FA Cup success after "life-changing" promotion to WSL 1 |publisher=Wokingham Today |last=Crocker |first=Tom |date=1 April 2016 |accessdate=7 July 2019 |archive-date=7 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707192550/https://www.wokinghampaper.co.uk/reading-fc-women-defender-rachel-rowe-eyes-fa-cup-success-after-life-changing-promotion-to-wsl-1/ |url-status=dead }}
At the start of the 2018–19 season, she featured in a 1–0 victory over Liverpool. However, the following month, she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a friendly match that ended her season after a single appearance. Despite her injury setback, she was offered a new contract with the club at the end of the campaign.{{cite news |url=http://reading.fawsl.com/news/rowe_remains_a_royal.html#K2D6BJp0Ihc83wbG.97 |title=Rowe Remains a Royal |publisher=Reading F.C. Women |date=2 May 2019 |accessdate=7 July 2019 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} On 7 November 2020, Rowe played her 100th game for Reading.{{cite web |title=Rowe celebrates 100th appearance |url=https://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/2020/december/-rowe-celebrates-100th-appearance/ |website=readingfc.co.uk/ |publisher=Reading F.C. |access-date=20 December 2020 |date=20 December 2020}}
In March 2021, Rowe signed a new three-year contract with Reading.{{cite web |title=Rachel Rowe: Reading's Wales striker signs new three-year contract |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56538504 |website=bbc.co.uk/ |publisher=BBC Sport |access-date=6 February 2022 |date=26 March 2021}} Rowe left Reading at the end of the 2022–23 season following their relegation to the Women's Championship.{{cite web |title=My time at Reading has come to an end. |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CuFgvbrtP6S/?hl=en |website=instagram.com/rsrowe13 |publisher=Rachel Rowe Instagram |access-date=30 June 2023 |date=29 June 2023}}
On 21 July 2023, Rowe signed for Scottish Women's Premier League club Rangers.{{cite web |title=RANGERS SIGN RACHEL ROWE FROM READING |url=https://www.rangers.co.uk/article/rangers-sign-rachel-rowe-from-reading/1VtbB35WUKqsAEvijDjIWe |website=rangers.co.uk |publisher=Rangers F.C. |access-date=24 August 2023 |date=21 July 2023}}
On 14 June 2024, she signed for Women's Championship club Southampton.{{Cite web |date=14 June 2024 |title=Rowe becomes Women's first summer signing |url=https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/rowe-becomes-womens-first-summer-signing |access-date=14 June 2024 |website=Southampton FC}}
International career
File:20150922 2013 W AUT WAL 4461.jpg
Having previously represented Wales at under-17 and under-19 level, Rowe made her debut for the senior side in Wales' first UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying match against Austria starting in a 3–0 defeat in Sankt Pölten.{{cite web|title=Austria 3 – 0 Wales|url=https://www.uefa.com/womenseuropeanqualifiers/match/2016602--austria-vs-wales/|publisher=UEFA|access-date=24 September 2015|date=22 September 2015}} She made her international debut despite still working within the prison service.
In 2022 she earned her 50th cap in a FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 qualifying playoff tie against Bosnia and Herzegovina.{{Cite news |date=2022-10-03 |title=We’ve made history but we’re not finished – Wales midfielder Rachel Rowe |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/weve-made-history-but-were-not-finished-wales-midfielder-rachel-rowe/42036839.html |access-date=2024-04-11 |work=BelfastTelegraph.co.uk |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}
Career statistics
=Club=
{{updated|match played 4 May 2025}}{{soccerway|rachel-rowe/139701}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | ||||||||||
| rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|National Cup !colspan="2"|League Cup !colspan="2"|Continental !colspan="2"|Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| rowspan="10"|Reading
|2015 |rowspan="1"|WSL 2 |16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2016
| rowspan="8"|WSL |16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 19 | 1 | ||
| 2017
|4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 5 | 1 | ||
| 2017–18
|18 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | colspan="2"|— | 25 | 5 | ||
| 2018–19
|1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 3 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20
|12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21
|19 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 23 | 6 | ||
| 2021–22
|14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 16 | 1 | ||
| 2022–23
|18 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 24 | 3 | ||
| colspan="2"|Total
!118 | 14 | 11 | 2 | 27 | 1 | colspan="2" |— | 156 | 18 | ||
| Rangers
|SWPL |19 |4 |1 |1 |1 |0 | colspan="2" |— |21 |5 | ||||||||||
| Southampton
|14 |0 |1 |0 |2 |0 | colspan="2" |— |17 |0 | ||||||||||
| colspan="3" |Career total
!151 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 30 | 1 | colspan="2" |— | 194 | 23 |
{{notelist}}
=International goals=
| class="wikitable" | ||||||
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 8 October 2019 | Borisov Arena, Barysaw, Belarus | {{fbw|BLR}} | align=center|0-1 | align=center| 0-1 | rowspan=2| UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying |
| 2. | 1 December 2020 | Rodney Parade, Newport, Wales | {{fbw|BLR}} | align=center|2–0 | align=center| 3–0 | |
| 3. | 17 September 2021 | Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli, Wales | {{fbw|KAZ}} | align=center|3–0 | align=center| 6–0 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 4. | 6 April 2023 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | {{fbw|NIR}} | align=center|4–0 | align=center| 4–1 | rowspan=2| Friendly |
| 5. | 11 April 2023 | Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, Guimarães, Portugal | {{fbw|POR}} | align=center|1-1 | align=center| 1–1 | |
| 6. | 5 April 2024 | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, Wales | {{fbw|CRO}} | align=center|3–0 | align=center| 4–0 | rowspan=3| UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying |
| 7. | rowspan=2| 9 April 2024 | rowspan=2| Zahir Pajaziti Stadium, Podujevo, Kosovo | rowspan=2| {{fbw|KOS}} | align=center|0-1 | rowspan=2 align=center| 6–0 | |
| 8. | align=center|0-3 |
Honours
= Individual =
- FA Women's Super League Goal of the Month: October 2022{{Cite tweet|number=1590690750999642112|user=BarclaysWSL|title=A last minute screamer for @ReadingFCWomen! @RachelRowe1323's strike is the @BarclaysFooty Goal of the Month 🚀|author=Barclays Women's Super League|date=10 November 2022|access-date=10 November 2022}}
== Rangers ==
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{UEFA player|250005964}}
- {{Soccerway|rachel-rowe/139701}}
{{Southampton F.C. Women squad}}
{{2023–24 PFA Scotland SWPL Team of the Year}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Rachel}}
Category:Wales women's international footballers
Category:Welsh women's footballers
Category:21st-century Welsh sportswomen
Category:Footballers from Swansea
Category:Women's Super League players
Category:Scottish Women's Premier League players
Category:Women's association football wingers
Category:Women's association football forwards
Category:Cardiff City Ladies F.C. players
Category:Swansea City Ladies F.C. players
Category:Reading F.C. Women players