Debbie is UK's oldest female rugby player

8:06am Saturday 30th August 2008

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Most women about to turn 60 are probably starting to think about taking it easy.

But not Debbie Gorrod.

She likes nothing better than to unwind by scrumming down on a Saturday afternoon and playing a "no holds barred" game of rugby.

The granny - nicknamed 'Feisty' by teammates - celebrates her 60th birthday on September 18 and the RFUW (Rugby Football Union for Women) has confirmed she is the oldest registered player in the country - by quite a distance.

And the Witney Angels RFC lock forward, who is days away from picking up her bus pass, says she has no intention of giving up.

"I guess I'll carry on till I fall over," she said last night. "I feel as fit as a fiddle and just love the game. It's all down to training, weights and circuits and three-mile runs."

Mrs Gorrod, from Faringdon, only decided to start playing the gruelling game about 11 years ago, but now regularly turns out in the pack for the Angels.

"I now feel a darned sight fitter than when I was 40, bringing up a family and all that. Sixty is the new 40 for me," she said.

This week she was back in training at the club's Witney Road ground, in Hailey, looking forward to a new league season and a celebration match next Saturday against her former club, Supermarine at Swindon.

But rugby is just part of a lifetime of sport for a woman who was once an international sailor and Olympic trialist for Great Britain.

Mrs Gorrod still works full-time as an occupational medic for a private health company in Reading. She has three sons and five grandchildren.

She is by far the oldest member of the Angels team, which plays in the women's Midlands division one.

The youngest, Jenny Nicholson, is 21 and a few are in their late 30s and early 40s.

The RFUW also said the next oldest female player registered at Twickenham is a relatively youthful 55-years-old.

Fellow Angel Heidi Huxtable said the squad was in awe of their comrade.

"Debbie's a no holds barred kind of player who will tackle anything that comes her way," she said.

"This woman is relentless in her dedication, which is why she is the oldest women's rugby player known in the RFUW at present and has the spirit and fitness of someone a third of her age.

"It's unfortunate that she didn't start playing 20 years ago when the sport first became popular."

Julia Hutton, spokesman for the RFUW, confirmed that Mrs Gorrod was the oldest affiliated woman player.