fullname birth_place nationalteam height nationalcaps nationalyears birth_date article_title name nationalgoals
melissa ruscoe new zealand new zealand 1.76 23 1994-2010 15 december 1976 melissa ruscoe
 melissa ruscoe 2
melissa ruscoe

melissa ruscoe mnzm -lrb- born 15 december 1976 -rrb- is a new zealand sportswoman who has served as captain of her country 's national team in two different football codes -- association football and rugby union .
in soccer , ruscoe made her football ferns debut in a 0-1 loss to bulgaria on 24 august 1994 , and finished her international career with 23 caps and 2 goals to her credit .
after leaving behind her international career in soccer , she switched to rugby , joining the canterbury team in new zealand 's women 's provincial championship in 2003 .
as a loose forward , she made the black ferns the following year .
she has played on black ferns teams that won the churchill cup in 2004 and the women 's rugby world cup in 2006 , and was also named the new zealand women 's player of the year in 2005 .
ruscoe captained the black ferns to victory in the 2010 women 's rugby world cup .
ruscoe was made a member of the new zealand order of merit in the 2011 new year honours , for services to women 's rugby .
