Karen Henderson

Dr Karen Louise Henderson (born 10 July 1967) is an English former rugby union player who played as a lock. She represented the England national team between 1994 and 2002, winning 31 caps, and was part of the squad that won the 1994 Women's Rugby World Cup.

Early life Henderson was born in 1967 and lived in the south-west of England before relocating to Newcastle at the end of 1992. She was aged 25 at the time of her move to the north-east.

She relocated to Newcastle later that year and by 1993 was playing for Novocastrians. During that season she established herself as a prominent forward and scored a try and kicked a conversion in a match for the club.

Henderson later returned to Clifton Ladies, where she was active throughout the mid-1990s. In 1995 she was selected for a North representative side as a Clifton player.

International career Henderson was selected for the England women's squad by 1993 and toured Canada with the national side that year. and was part of the England squad that won that tournament. She went on to become an established international forward, earning 31 caps for England. She retired from international rugby following that tournament.

Playing style Henderson played as a lock and was noted for her physical presence in the forward pack and effectiveness in close play. At the time of her retirement she was described as providing the "spine" of the England scrum, reflecting her importance to the team’s forward unit.

Her work has focused on mathematics education and the use of technology to support student learning. She was involved in the development of the DEWIS web-based e-assessment system and research into identifying common student errors in mathematics to provide targeted feedback through digital assessment tools. and has contributed to work on diagnostic testing and digital learning tools in undergraduate mathematics education. She was appointed a Learning and Teaching Fellow in 2012 and was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2015.