Tam Breckenridge played eight times for the USA and was only the 18th player ever to be selected for the USA Women's 15s National Team.

A tall lock who was hugely effective in the lineout, Breckenridge's USA career was all about the massive battles. In her eight test matches from 1988 to 1993 she played Canada three times, New Zealand, twice, England twice, and the Netherlands. Whenever the USA played someone they expected to beat, someone else patrolled second row. Whenever it was a massive test of wills against the best in the world (and remember the Netherlands game was a 7-0 mudbath), Brekenridge was called upon.

In her eight test matches only one could be called a comfortable win (28-3 over Canada in Edmonton in 1989). The games included two 7-0 nailbiters (Netherlands and New Zealand), a 13-12 win over Canada, and a World Cup Final (19-6 over England).

Read the LA Times Interview With Tam Breckenridge Leading Up To The 1991 Women's Rugby World Cup

Domestically Breckenridge carried the banner for West Coast women's rugby in the 1980s. An excellent athlete who was part of UCLA's national championship basketball team in 1978, she also played rugby for the Bruins, Southern California, Santa Monica, and Belmont Shore. She helped the Pacific Coast to national all-star championships in 1991 and 1992, and Belmont Shore to a national club title in 1990.

If you needed someone to watch your back in a rugby game, Tam Breckenridge was the teammate you needed.

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