FLEMING Deborah

General
OCCUPATION
After the Rugby Football Union [RFU] terminated the contracts of the England rugby sevens players in 2020, she took up a full-time job as the general manager of a gym business group. "I recognise the challenges of going into full-time employment and how that is going to have a large impact on my training ability and the kinds of sessions I can get done, but I think everybody recognises that you have to pay bills. For me, it was like heartache, I had heartache about the Olympics being postponed. I had a heartache because you have to realise you may not be selected and that I may not be able to maintain the fitness, strength, power, speed and skill set to contend anymore for a position because I am going to be working full-time." She has also previously worked as a recruitment consultant and as a fashion store manager for Abercrombie and Fitch. (LinkedIn profile, 23 Apr 2021; pace-zine.com, 01 Sep 2020; telegraph.co.uk, 04 Aug 2020)

SARACENS RETURN
In 2020 she signed for English Premier 15s rugby union [15-a-side] side Saracens, four years after she left the club to concentrate on rugby sevens with England. "I'm a bit anxious about how it's going to go for me on the pitch having switched from sevens to 15s but I'm so excited to be back with my Sarries family. I enjoyed my time here previously and that's why they were top of my list and always will be. I love the culture, I love the facilities and I really love the team." She also played rugby union [15-a-side] for Bristol Bears, before leaving in 2015 to join Saracens for the first time. (saracens.com, 08 Oct 2020; 08 Sep 2020)

FATHERLY INSPIRATION
Her father Charles Fleming served as her personal athletics coach as a child and she believes he helped inspire her sports career. "I was very fortunate to do athletics as a kid and my dad was a great coach and someone who really inspired me. We spent a lot of time running on the sand dunes, and doing tyre runs up hills with dad driving alongside me in the car and encouraging me step by step." (therpa.co.uk, 01 Sep 2018)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
She has served as a Rugby Players Association [RPA] player representative for the England women's rugby sevens team, a position she was voted into by her teammates. "I want the women's game to be represented at the highest level of the sport and to have our voices heard loud and clear." She is also a qualified kettle bell instructor and personal trainer. (LinkedIn profile, 23 Apr 2021; therpa.co.uk, 01 Sep 2018)