Julie Foster came to rugby later in life but adapted to the sport quickly to become a trailblazer for Saskatchewan rugby players.
Foster represented Canada at three International Rugby Board (IRB) Women’s Rugby World Cups, reaching the semifinals each time. She retired from international play sitting third on Canada’s all-time list with 44 appearances for the national team. She was the fifth woman inducted into Rugby Canada’s Hall of Fame in 2019.
She began to play rugby in 1991 at age 22, earning a spot on Saskatchewan’s provincial team that year while also being long-listed for the national team. She debuted on the Canadian national team in 1996 and scored 13 tries in her international career which lasted until 2006. She also spent 21 years on the provincial team. In 1997, she joined Canada’s first women’s rugby sevens team at the prestigious Hong Kong Sevens. She represented Canada 10 times in sevens rugby over 10 years.
Foster also excelled in hockey. She started playing on boys teams before switching to ringette and then finding a home in a women’s league when she was still in elementary school. She found a home with that team and it was through some of those teammates that she was first encouraged to play rugby.
She played for the Canadian women’s national hockey team in 1993 at a Winter Olympic festival in San Antonio, Texas. Foster scored a goal in one of the two games against the Americans. Foster was part of the player pool building up to the debut of women’s hockey at the Olympics in 1998 but wasn’t able to crack the national team roster for a major tournament.
She began her association with the University of Regina (U of R) women’s hockey program as an assistant coach in 1998-99 before playing on the team for four seasons. In that time, the Cougars reached the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national tournament three times and she was named a CIS all-star in 2000. Following her return to the ice, Foster resumed her role as an assistant coach with the Cougars for more than 20 years.
Foster has been very busy as a coach with numerous rugby teams and programs in the province as well. She has coached Saskatchewan provincial rugby teams, as well as the U of R women’s sevens team for 12 years and the Regina Rage women’s team from 2008 to present. She has also helped coach the first Canadian Classics (over-32) national women’s team. She has also served on the Rugby Canada Board of Directors.
In 2011, Foster received the Colette McAuley Award from the Rugby Canada Foundation for representing the true spirit of rugby and giving back to the game.
Installed in the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame on September 20, 2025.