Playing in the recent Legends Tour Pro Am at the stunning Galgorm Castle golf course in Ballymena alongside Pete Snodden and Ian Humphreys
HOW good is it to see Ireland Women back at the Rugby World Cup?
After missing out on the last World Cup, by failing to qualify, the girls in green are back on the world stage and this tournament has been bigger and better than ever.
When England were announced as hosts it was always going to be special. England currently top the world rankings and are well ahead of most when it comes to women’s rugby.
Ireland currently sit fifth in the world rankings after an impressive couple of years.
The rise back to the top table may have surprised many on the outside but to those on the inside this has been years of hard work.
“We feel we are back were we belong,” star back row Aoife Wafer told me.
Ireland’s men have been competing at the top of the sport for years but the women’s game was in danger of being left behind.
That changed when the Irish Rugby Union decided to invest in the women’s game. Central contracts were given out, just like in the men’s game. And many more staff were added to the small back room team.
Scott Bemand has had a big influence from the top down. As head coach he has helped inject the side with a confidence that had slowly waned over the past decade.
Another factor that has helped bring this squad to life again is, of course, the supporters.
As sports fans we all know how amazing Irish fans are, north or south, we get behind our own.
The ‘Green Wave’, as the supporters of the women’s Irish rugby team are aptly named, have been on this journey back to the world stage with the team. And it has grown immensely. Irish rugby have been wise in their approach, hosting the women’s games in each of the four provinces over the past while in order to make the team accessible to fans all over the island.
I covered a recent game at the Affidea stadium in Belfast (formerly Ravenhill) and saw the impact the players had on the fans there.
After the match the girls went out to the front of the stadium to sign autographs and fulfil selfie wishes. I saw one of the fans cry as she met her hero, Aoibheann Reilly.
I was reporting for UTV so interviewed the teenager. “What was it like meeting someone you look up to?” I asked. “I can’t believe it!” came the beaming reply.
“She’s my absolute favourite, I’m shaking here.”
The young girl told me she plays rugby for Banbridge and hopes one day to play for Ireland, just like Aoibheann Reilly.
It’s been said before but it bears repeating… the more coverage we give these athletes, the bigger the impact they will have, inspiring the stars of the future. In a nutshell; Can’t see, Can’t be.
Ireland enjoyed their first World Cup match of the tournament with a wonderful win over Japan, followed up by qualification for the quarter finals with victory over Spain. New Zealand are up next in the final group game and Ireland know what they are facing. They shocked the Black Ferns with victory in Auckland last year in the WXV1.
And they famously became the first team to defeat New Zealand at a World Cup in 23 years back in 2014. The crunch game will be their final group game against the Black Ferns. Let’s hope the Green Wave in England roars alongside the team into the knock out stages. Anything is possible.
Coinciding with the rise of the Ireland women’s rugby team has been the excitement surrounding Northern Ireland’s young senior men’s football squad. Michael O’Neill took the class of 2016 to their first ever European finals and, as the talent and togetherness combine in equal measures, he has a chance to do something special again 10 years on at the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and United States.
This is, of course, O’Neill’s second stint as manager but his man management skills haven’t changed. His current crop came together out of injury and retirement of his regulars when he was forced to pick straight from the under 21 and under 19 squads.
But what a combination it has turned out to be with Premier League winner Conor Bradley, FA Cup and Community Shield winner Justin Devenny, Premier League newcomers Trai Hume and Dan Ballard alongside the likes of Shea Charles, Issac Price and Paddy McNair.
We dared to dream in 2016 and the same optimism is starting to build around this team ahead of the World Cup qualifiers which begin for Northern Ireland this month.
Although Northern Ireland start away from home in Luxembourg and Germany before returning home to Windsor Park in October, there is a big night of sport at the Clearer Twist National Stadium this month.
The first ever All Ireland World Title fight takes place as Belfast’s Lewis Crocker and Limerick’s Paddy Dovovan step into an outdoor ring on the pitch to contest for the IBF World Welterweight Title.
It’s a hotly anticipated rematch after the controversial ending in Belfast’s SSE Arena on March 1.
Donovan was winning the fight when the referee disqualified him for punching after the bell so Crocker had his hand raised.
Former professional MMA fighter ‘Meatball’ Molly McCann is making her boxing debut on the undercard as she makes the switch between the two codes.
Nineteen year old Kyle Smith, from Glengormley, who won the Ulster Elites in January, is also making his professional debut on the undercard. After watching Carl Frampton, Paddy Barnes and Tyson Fury at the first stadium fight held at Windsor Park back in 2018, we should be in for another explosive night.
Michael Conlan is also giving a world title shot one last go as he starts the journey in Dublin on September 5 in the 3 Arena against Jack Bateson with the hope of getting a world title fight next year.
The IBF world welterweight belt on the line for Crocker v Donovan, the first All Ireland world title fight in Belfast
With Kyle Smith ahead of his pro debut at Windsor Park on September 13
Build up to the Crocker v Donovan rematch at Windsor Park on September 13
Interviewing Michael Conlan for UTV outside the 3Arena ahead of his first professional fight in Dublin
