Brittany MitchellESPN Assistant Editor5 Minute Read
Arguably one of Australian women’s rugby’s most recognisable and influential figures, Wallaroos captain Shannon Parry has called time on a decade-long career that’s included multiple 15s and sevens World Cups, two Olympic Games, a World Series sevens title and a Commonwealth Games medal.
Running out for the final time for the Wallaroos in front of a home crowd on Saturday night when they take on Fijiana, Parry said it was a decision that’s been in the making after a 13-year long career in the gold jersey and she’d be leaving the sport without any regrets.
“It’s something that’s always been there,” Parry said on Monday at her retirement announcement. “Obviously I’m only getting older, and people are only getting younger, so for me the timing was right.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of people and when I finished up with sevens two years ago, I knew that the time was right then and 15s was a bit of a harder decision for me to make, but in saying that, for me, the body’s had enough, I’m mentally still going, but the body’s starting to struggle.
“I wouldn’t say [there’s any regrets], I’ve always played the game with my heart on my sleeve. I’ve always been one that always tested the boundaries, sometimes pushed the boundaries a little bit too hard, but that’s part of the game and I think for me, looking back it’s had its highs and its lows, but it’s definitely had a lot more highs than lows, that’s for sure.
“I’m really happy with where the squad’s at now. We’ve got a lot of youth development pathways coming through and the time’s just right for me and my family to make new transitions and start the next chapter in my life.”
Bursting onto the scene at 18 years of age in 2008 when she took on the game for the first time, Parry made her Wallaroos debut just two years later, named in the squad for the 2010 World Cup in England. They’d finish third, the best finish for the Wallaroos at a World Cup, but that was just the start of a career that’s seen her travel the world and play at some of the biggest rugby venues.
Captaining the Wallaroos at three World Cups, including last year’s quarter-final finish in New Zealand, and co-captain of the Australian women’s sevens team for much of career, Parry led her side to the inaugural sevens gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, a silver Commonwealth Games medal on the Gold Coast in 2018, and World Series titles in 2016 and 2018, but it’s her Wallaroos debut that holds a special place in her heart.
“I’d probably say my first Test in 2010 in London under John Manenti, the head coach at that point in time, [most memorable moment]. I probably didn’t really appreciate exactly how important it is to understand the Australian jersey and what it is to represent your country, but that was definitely a massive moment for me and my family.
“Then the 2016 Rio Olympics, creating history and winning the inaugural Olympic gold medal for sevens. And it really started I guess a momentum change in women’s sport, and it was society starting to accept women’s sport as well.
“They’re probably two massive moments, and I think Saturday night will be something special as well.”
While there’s been plenty of highs in her career there’s also been lots of lows, rupturing her ACL early in her career a true test of mental strength for the backrower, before riding the wave of an Olympic gold medal into one of the worst seasons for the Australian women’s sevens team in 2017.
“I think one [of the lows] was probably after Rio when we rode that roller coaster so high and then it was sort of the coming down and we had our worst season ever with the Australian Sevens and for us it was a rebuilding phase.
“We learned a lot about ourselves, and Tim Walsh led that charge towards the Commonwealth Games and we were fortunate enough that in 2018 there was a Commonwealth Games so there was something to get back up for.
“But for us, those two years of being a professional athlete, we didn’t know what we were in for, no one knew what we were in for, so we were asked to take a chance and twenty of us took that chance and claimed that gold medal.
“For us, it sort of started something, but it was that lull that we weren’t prepared for. You go from the pinnacle, you’re the Golden Girls, to everyone goes back to work and you don’t get prepared for that sort of stuff.
“For me that that was a tough time, thinking why am I training anymore? Why am I doing this? Why am I doing that? Because I’ve done what I wanted to do, I wanted to claim an Olympic gold medal, and I’ve done it.”
Seeing in the transition of amateur rugby to professional in the sevens program and now semi-professional in the fifteen-player game, the 33-year-old has witnessed firsthand the growth and development of the women’s game in Australia and has herself been an integral force in developing the game for women.
Fortunate to coach Parry twice during his career, Wallaroos coach Jay Tregonning struggled to hold back the emotion as he spoke of the influence Parry has had on the women’s game including his own daughter who picked up the rugby ball following the inspirational Rio gold medal.
“Her background within rugby and what she’s done for rugby overall is a is an awesome legacy and we always talk about leaving a legacy,” Tregonning said. “As a young teacher well, not so young teacher, in Illawarra, trying to get girls to play rugby, it wasn’t till after the success in 2016 that I started having a lot more girls keen to play and we started getting teams together and to me, that’s a massive impact.
“My daughter was a part of that and started playing rugby and it’s because of players like that and the opportunities they got and the ability to play in the Olympics and obviously Shannon being a leader of that environment then too, has changed the lives for a lot of girls coming up who are now you know comfortable with playing a sport that they love doing.”
Not lost from the game, Parry will continue to play a huge role in the growth of rugby, taking on the role of National Emerging Sevens coach, leading a team to the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago in August.
Closing one chapter of her life, Parry’s impact on the women’s game will be felt for years to come as she leaves the jersey in a better place than ever before.