England qualified Bekir Fuente signs for Exeter Chiefs Women

Multi-national hooker Sofia Bekir Fuente has signed to Exeter Chiefs Women ahead of next season.

Born in Ovideo, Spain, Bekir Fuente also qualifies to play for England and Australia.

The 24-year-old represented Western Force Women between 2022 and 2024 while playing her club rugby for Cottesloe Rugby Union Football Club where she was named Players’ Player in 2022 and Club Person of the Year in 2023. Her most recent club is CRAT (Club de Rugby Arquitectura Técnica) A Coruña in Spain.

A latecomer to the sport, Bekir Fuente only started playing four years ago, but she translated her power and athleticism from water polo and rowing to the rugby field helping Cottesloe win the top title in RugbyWA’s women’s programme in her first season.

This will not be her first time playing in the UK. Bekir Fuente played for North Bristol last year seeing them become South West 2 champions. She they reached out to Molly Saunders’ business Sport Exchange, resulting in a conversation with Chiefs.

Bekir Fuente said: “I picked up rugby when I came back to Perth for university but was doing online lecturers and wanted to try something new to make friends. I emailed my nearest club – who had the cool name of Cottesloe Shegulls – and started the craziest journey of my life.

“Rugby was not a thing at school so when I came to the UK where people had been playing since they were five, it made me wish I had started playing earlier.”

Chiefs Women’s assistant coach Steve Salvin said: “We are really interested in the talent transfer between sports. Not every female plays rugby at a young age, they do more so now, but where are these athletes who played hockey or netball or something else when they were younger and could pick up a rugby ball and give it a go? There are opportunities out there for these athletes and Sofia took hers four years ago. We are excited to see what she can do in the PWR.”