Cantwell and Clark to be inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2025

World Rugby has announced that former Ireland centre Lynne Cantwell and England prop Rochelle ‘Rocky’ Clark will be inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame during a special ceremony on 26 September at the Women’s Summit, held in London on the eve of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 final.

Cantwell is still Ireland’s most-capped player more than a decade after her retirement, having won a Women’s Six Nations title and inspired her country to a first-ever win over New Zealand at Women’s RWC 2014 for their only semi-final appearance. A generational talent who played as a wing, fly-half and centre for Ireland, she is now equally as respected as an administrator, both in rugby and sport in general and is currently the IRFU’s Head of Women’s Strategy.

Clark was one of the game’s biggest personalities and regarded among the world’s best scrummagers in a 15-year test career that saw her play for England in four Women’s Rugby World Cups, winning the title at France 2014, and bowed out as her country’s most-capped player with 137 in 2018 – a record she held until passed by former team-mate Sarah Hunter at RWC 2021.

The World Rugby Hall of Fame recognises those that have made an outstanding contribution to the game of rugby throughout their careers, while also demonstrating rugby’s character-building values of integrity, passion, solidarity, discipline and respect.

Cantwell and Clark take the number of inductees to the Hall of Fame in 2025 to four, with former Australia full-back Matthew Burke and England and British and Irish Lions flanker Richard Hill inducted in Sydney ahead of the final test of the Lions tour to Australia on 2 August.

This year’s inductees will bring the total in the Hall of Fame to 175 since it began in 2006.

World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson said: “On behalf of the global rugby family, I would like to congratulate Lynne Cantwell and Rocky Clark on their richly deserved inductions into the World Rugby Hall of Fame.

“Lynne was a generational talent and an inspirational part of an Ireland team that secured a first-ever Women’s Six Nations title and beat New Zealand on the way to a first Women’s Rugby World Cup semi-final. Rocky’s reputation as a world-class scrummager was deserved but her value went beyond that and she was an integral part of a hugely successful era for England.

“The World Rugby Hall of Fame exists to honour the greats of our game, those whose legacy transcends results and statistics. Lynne and Rocky have earned their place and we thank them for the extraordinary contribution they have made to the game around the world. I look forward to inducting them during what is already a record-breaking Women’s Rugby World Cup and a generational moment for our game.”

John Eales, Chairman of the Hall of Fame panel and a Hall of Fame inductee, said: “We proudly congratulate Lynne and Rocky on their elevation to the World Rugby Hall of Fame, recognising their exceptional on-field achievements and outstanding off-field contributions to the sport. Their careers exemplify rugby's core values of integrity, respect, and solidarity. This honour, celebrated during Women's Rugby World Cup, highlights their lasting impact on their nations and rugby's global community.”

For more information on the World Rugby Hall of Fame, visit www.world.rugby/halloffame.

World Rugby Hall of Fame 2025 inductees

No.174 – Lynne Cantwell (Ireland)

No.175 – Rochelle ‘Rocky’ Clark (England)

Lynne Cantwell (Ireland)

World Rugby Hall of Fame – Inductee No.174

Still Ireland’s most-capped women’s player 11 years post-retirement, Lynne Cantwell has contributed massively to the game on and off the field.

Brought up in a Gaelic football and soccer household, Cantwell’s first sport was, however, athletics, which she continued to pursue while studying sports science at the University of Limerick. It was after meeting Sarah Keane, the daughter of the late former Ireland men’s international Moss Keane, that Cantwell swapped her running shoes for rugby boots. It turned out to be an inspired decision, as Cantwell became a key player for not only the student side but also the newly formed UL Bohemians.

Starting out as a winger, the pacy Cantwell won her first cap for Ireland off the bench against England in March 2002. Ireland struggled to get results in those early years, but together with other generational talents like Fiona Coghlan and Joy Neville, they became a real force.

Cantwell, who transitioned to the centres and occasionally played fly-half in the green of Ireland, won 86 consecutive caps over 13 years, sharing in the 2013 Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam and competing in four Women’s Rugby World Cups – 2002 in Spain, 2006 in Canada, 2010 in England and 2014 in France, where they famously defeated New Zealand for the first time to reach Ireland’s first-ever semi-final.

She was part of Ireland’s first-ever women’s sevens team in 2006, formed part of the squad for Ireland’s first Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow in 2013, and helped Ireland qualify for their first World Series in the 2013-14 season. Post retirement, she joined Ireland’s Touch World Cup team, playing senior mixed touch at Malaysia 2019.

In more recent years Cantwell has been an Executive Committee Board member with Sport Ireland. She and her family relocated to Cape Town to join Rassie Erasmus and Charles Wessels by taking on the role of Women’s High-Performance Manager for SA Rugby. She is now Head of Women’s Strategy for the IRFU.

Rochelle Clark

World Rugby Hall of Fame – Inductee No.175

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