In October 1986, she met two members of the Richmond Women’s rugby team in a night out and was told that they needed tall players like her.
[1] She found an old pair of lacrosse boots and attended her first training at Richmond where she met Deborah Griffin, Sue Dorrington and Mary Forsyth.
[2] She was an obvious choice for Press officer because she was a regular contributor to Rugby World & Post where she had her own column about the women’s game.
[1] Cooper devoted countless hours creating media coverage for the tournament, and was often found at the National Sports Centre for Wales typing up team sheets and match reports, organising the printing of programmes, and handling media calls.
[1][2] Cooper's playing career came to an end in 1993 after she suffered a broken leg while captaining the Richmond sevens team.