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Gladiator Jodie Ounsley walks away from rugby
By PA
Jodie Ounsley is stepping away from rugby to pursue other opportunities after securing early release from her Exeter contract.
Ounsley has become more widely known as Fury on the successfully revived TV show Gladiators and had the distinction of being the first female deaf player to represent a senior England team.
Apart from playing for England sevens and the Chiefs, the 23-year-old also enjoyed spells at Loughborough Lightning and Sale Sharks.
“Stepping away from the rugby field has been one of the most difficult decisions of my life,” Ounsley said.
“This sport has given me opportunities, friendships and memories that I could only have dreamt of, and I will forever be grateful to the wonderful community at Exeter for making this feel like home.
“Whilst I am excited for opportunities around the corner, this is certainly not goodbye and I will continue to be a fervent supporter of women’s rugby.
“With the Rugby World Cup on the horizon, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for our sport.”
Ounsley, a British Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion, suffered a shoulder injury at the start of the current season and was sidelined for seven months before making her comeback for Exeter in the Allianz Cup last Saturday.
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I reckon it may be Jordan at 10 and Nohamba at 9, both players have played together alot and both have been on the Radar for a long time. After Pollard got injured in 2022 with Elton sidelined on a path of self destruction Erasmus and Nienaber indicated that the other options in the country at the time were thin but that Jordan and Manie were the 2 they were looking at. In the end Frans steyn played flyhalf, Willemse slotted in there on the end of year with Libbok as back up. Jordan was right there in the thinking back then so expect him to take the Jersey either as the starter.
Go to commentsHaha did he always say it in a sarcastic teacher sort of manor or was it the petulant English snob sort of wail?
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