BY RICHARD BULLICK
RECENTLY retired Leinster skipper Hannah O’Connor has paid a glowing tribute to her young provincial vice-captain Aoife Dalton on the back of the 21-year-old’s Player of the Match performance in Ireland’s 54-12 record rout of Italy in the Guinness Six Nations.
Next up is England in Cork on Saturday, April 12 at 4.45pm.
Unlike those of us who are naturally interminable windbags of the highest order, the formidable O’Connor isn’t someone given to gushing hyperbole and, as a revered elder stateswoman of Irish women rugby now, her words carry real weight.
So, when the no-nonsense Blackrock club captain launched into a two-minute monologue eulogising Dalton on the excellent RTE rugby podcast last week, it captured perfectly the high esteem in which the self-effacing young Offaly woman is held by those who matter.
O’Connor’s most striking statement was that Dalton would be the first name on the teamsheet if she was picking a backline out of all those she has played with for Leinster and Ireland over the years, which is high praise indeed given the calibre of individuals in that mix.
Although already a real lynchpin for Leinster, Wolfhounds and Ireland, Dalton enjoys just getting on with her job under the radar, but she has been in the spotlight lately thanks to a fairly rare media appearance ahead of facing Italy and that award-winning display in Parma.
It was only natural then that the easily-overlooked but high-quality young centre was a topic of conversation when regular guest O’Connor joined host Neil Treacy on that RTE podcast to review Ireland’s first away win in the Six Nations since 2021.
The pair were conversationally chewing the cud about various aspects of Ireland’s wonderful display but, when Treacy teed up the subject of Dalton, O’Connor enthusiastically grabbed the ball and ran with it in giving a lengthy, heartfelt tribute.
This writer has unashamedly been beating the drum for the past couple of years about how the quietly understated Dalton is such an absolute little gem of a young player and person, so it was gratifying to hear someone of O’Connor’s standing wax lyrical on the subject.
Hannah lauded Dalton’s substance, exemplary professionalism, rugby smarts, admirable modesty, maturity as an old head on young shoulders, unflappable nature, great work ethic and outstanding defensive capabilities – an impressive mix of qualities and attributes.
O’Connor was playing No 8 when teenager Dalton marked her first cap for Ireland in Japan in the summer of 2022 with a try, and was provincial captain when Aoife won Player of the Match on her Leinster debut the following January.
Leinster skipper Hannah O’Connor presenting vice-captain Aoife Dalton with her jersey
The pair were among just three players to start every Leinster game over the past three seasons up until last August’s interpro final when concussion cruelly ruled O’Connor out of what was meant to be her last match in blue before retirement.
Thankfully, they still won to claim a second consecutive interpro title and the final images of O’Connor in a Leinster dressing-room were of the old warrior skipper squeezed in beside her young deputy Dalton in the latter’s little changing booth as the champions celebrated.
It felt fitting and symbolic because while, at a superficial level, the pair might seem very different in many ways, they have both been real rocks for Tania Rosser’s Leinster and are ultimate team women who set a great example by always walking the walk.
Now retired from representative rugby, O’Connor can simply sit back and watch with pride like the various other Irish women’s rugby grandees who adore Dalton and have such respect and affection for her and how she goes about her business both on and off-field.
Noting that she ‘is still incredibly young but feels very much part of the furniture’, Treacy observed that Dalton had come in initially during Irish women’s rugby’s darkest days but acknowledges herself that those tough formative experiences have stood to her.
“I can’t speak highly enough of Aoife as a player or a person. She’s probably come in in the depths of it, but she has taken every bit of it in her stride – never once has she been in any way over-awed or flapped by anything that has gone on,” enthused Hannah in reply.
“She is the most chilled individual you will meet and such a diligent professional. Since she has come into the programme, she has been unbelievable in just the level of professionalism.
“You’d never know that she’s as young as she is, the way she carries herself. You’ve probably seen her media (appearances), she’s so softly-spoken, not one of those players that would be standing up in the circle giving it yap for the sake of the coaches to hear.
“If Aoife speaks, you’re going to listen because she doesn’t do it that often. She leads with her example. I know she said that as well in her (press conference ahead of the Italy game), but it’s very true.
“I’d go as far as to say that the backline, in terms of if you were to take every back even in all the teams I’ve been lucky enough to play with for Ireland and Leinster, Aoife Dalton would be the first name I’d put in any backline, such is her pivotal role to the defensive picture.
“I can’t speak highly enough of the work that she does there, the amount of try-saving tackles that she would have made in games over the years for province, club and country is phenomenal; the work-rate that she gets through, it’s the dog’s work.
“Like she gets the limelight there on Sunday as she rightly should for her sheer work-rate and getting a try to boot as well, but (it’s the) grunt work that she does and the amount of work she gets through and helping cover up holes that maybe are left by other people.
“It’s great to see her get the kind of credit that she deserves because I can’t speak highly of someone enough as her – the most modest kind of unassuming person you’d meet and just an absolute warrior then on the pitch.
“So yeah, delighted for her, can’t speak highly enough of her,” concluded O’Connor, with the end of her passionate soliloquy enabling Treacy to interject with an anecdote around how modest Dalton had been when asked about her defensive leadership and prowess.
“I suppose when I came in first, I found that was kind of one thing I could do and was able to kind of execute on the pitch, because I’d never been in an environment where there was such demand on you regardless of your age or how many caps you had,” ventured Aoife.
“I was probably out of my depth in many regards but I felt like I could offer something on the defensive side. It’s not easy for me though, and I wouldn’t say it comes naturally, it’s just something that I knew I wanted to be really good at and I really went after it.
“I watch lots of rugby in fairness and we’ve a great defence coach for Ireland in Hugh Hogan. His level of detail that he gives us actually makes my job really easy so I think I’ve a lot to thank him for,” insisted Dalton at her pre-Italy press conference.
A happy Aoife Dalton with her Player of the Match award after Ireland’s record rout of Italy (©INPHO/Tom Maher)
“She’s so humble,” exclaimed Hannah, with a grin and fond shake of the head, adding: “Like in all the times that I’ve played with her since 2022 with Ireland and Leinster, I could probably count on one hand the amount of tackles that Aoife has missed, such is her ability to read a defensive picture and absolutely kill you in the line as well!
“So yeah Aoife is very, very modest but a key cog in everything, and I think build that (defence) around her, though there’s serious (selection) pressure too because my clubmate Enya Breen, who I rate massively, is obviously warming the bench at the minute.
“That’s frustrating for Enya, she’s another absolute quality player, but those three centres that are involved at the moment – Eve Higgins, Aoife and Enya – are very, very different players with different skill-sets in terms of running game, big tackling game, kicking game.”
Treacy noted that Bemand’s dilemma in choosing between three excellent centres for two starting spots is a little like Andy Farrell’s Aki-Henshaw-Ringrose conundrum in the Ireland men’s set-up, with one proven performer unlucky to lose out for any given game when everyone is available.
“There was a bit of swapping and changing between them last Six Nations and you wouldn’t know who Scott Bemand will pick at times, selection could come down to horses for courses, but I’m delighted for Aoife Dalton to be getting the recognition she deserves.
“I was delighted for her (being chosen as Player of the Match) because she’s been doing it, she does it every week – you rarely see Aoife having a bad game, but her name is probably just more to the fore when she gets a try like last Sunday.
“But that’s just in addition to her bread-and-butter, in terms of that work-rate, and the amount of tackles and the amount of work she gets through from game to game which can more readily go unnoticed,” O’Connor reflected.
Although unquestionably an improved and much more experienced player compared to her first Six Nations as a 19-year-old, Dalton actually faces fiercer competition for her starting spot now with Higgins and Breen both being available continuously, unlike then.
Breen spent most of a year on the sidelines after picking up a significant injury in the 2023 Six Nations opener, while Higgins was out of the picture due to Irish sevens commitments during Dalton’s first season in the squad.
The trio have each had to take a few turns on the bench but, rather than resenting the squeeze, the determined Dalton fully understands the context and how the bar being raised is beneficial for the individuals involved, and the team, by pushing everyone to improve.
There was a lovely image in Vancouver the night Ireland shocked world champions New Zealand, with Dalton running back on at the end, jumping on top of Breen and then pulling in Higgins for a tight three-way embrace as the trio shared those special moments.
“I’d be close with the two girls now we’ve competed with each other and played together over the last three years, and that is definitely what has driven me on as a player to try and be better,” reflects Dalton.
“I think competition in your position forces you to become a better player, it’s kind of sink or swim, and I’ve a lot to thank them for in terms of how I’ve grown as a player as well – they’re that bit older than me and I’ve learned from them.”
Asked about the adjustments needed depending on who she’s paired with, Dalton replied: “I’d say I’m very well used to the two girls now. I’ve been at 12 with Eve 13 at times, and now we’ve swapped, and I’ve played outside Enya for I don’t know how many games now.
“So I think we’re all well used to each other at this stage and I think our relationships have grown over the last few years, for sometimes I’ve been out and the girls have been in as a pairing, and likewise me with one or other.”
In Edel McMahon’s absence, Breen captained Ireland in their last two matches at WXV1 but has yet to start in this Six Nations, while Higgins was vice-captain in last season’s Six Nations before starting just one Test out of four in the autumn.
So Dalton is not just up against quality rivals for those centre berths but two top players four years her senior who have held official leadership positions for Ireland, yet the diminutive Leinster and Wolfhounds vice-captain is more than holding her own in the selection stakes.
She has been in the run-on line-up for 17 of Ireland’s last 21 Tests and, over the past year or so when all three have been available, there have been eight starts for Higgins and seven apiece for Breen and Dalton.
With her low centre of gravity, the sturdy Dalton could be likened to Brian O’Driscoll or Scott Gibbs, but the most obvious comparison is to Ireland women’s most capped player of all-time Lynne Cantwell, which fellow legends Rosser and Fiona Coghlan have often made.
Asked about which centres she has admired or tried to learn from, Dalton – who was originally a gaelic footballer before embracing the oval ball code in her early teens – cited Cantwell, though her homework extends beyond the women’s game these days.
“When I first started, everyone told me to watch Lynne Cantwell, as a female player as well. We’re both small, so that’s probably why I always get compared to her. But I watch a lot of rugby generally, for example the (English) men’s Prem(iership) games, and you always pick up stuff.”
Along with her defensive smarts, ferocious tackling and good organisational skills, Dalton brings deceptive pace in attack, carries hard, passes well and runs good support lines so offers a complete package, perhaps with the exception of a kicking game.
Any Dalton highlights reel would include that brilliant break which led to Ruth Campbell’s try for Leinster against Munster two seasons ago as Dalton, wriggling like an eel and pumping those sturdy legs, somehow fought through heavy traffic and emerged in the clear.
Those of us who watch the interpros and Celtic Challenge closely are also familiar with those hard decoys Dalton runs, how many rucks she hits and her hugely effective breakdown work which can deliver important turnovers. She’s like an additional loose forward.
So it was good to hear the pundits pick up on how her trademark decoy contributed to Anna McGann’s second try against Italy, or those fantastic turnovers against France – notably the rip on her own tryline – being highlighted.
Dalton filled in at wing forward in the final quarter against Wales last time Ireland played at Musgrave Park and, as with Ireland’s sixth and final try against Australia last September, she forcefully piled into the mauls which led to two touchdowns in the recent French fixture.
Dalton’s outstanding display against Italy received plaudits from the likes of former Ireland captain Ciara Griffin and ex-international Jackie Shiels along with BBC studio pundits, Lindsay Peat and Eliza Downey, who are also both former inter-county gaelic footballers.
“Aoife Dalton just reminds me of Lynne Cantwell from back in the day, with her centre of gravity, her awareness, her ball-playing. She’s a really, really smart rugby player who has all the attributes of an excellent centre,” enthused former Ireland centre Shiels, who worked with her as a coach in the Wolfhounds set-up last season.
“By all accounts she’s also a great person around the squad so I’m delighted she got Player of the Match today. Her all-round game is really good and she’s so young too, so it’s only going to keep going in the right direction,” Shields told Newstalk’s Off The Ball podcast.
“That whole passage started with a Dalton chop tackle. Then when that ball was thrown out behind her, she’d still a lot to do. She had no right to score that try but it’s the direct running and she’s a tricky customer with her low centre of gravity,” praised ex-Ireland prop Peat.
“Aoife Dalton is a well-deserved Player of the Match, she does so much work off the ball, she’s confident beyond her years and the centre partnership of her and Higgins is really exciting,” enthused Downey, who wore the green jersey at the 2010 World Cup.
Aoife Dalton hauls down an opponent during Ireland’s Six Nations opener against France
Leinster try-scorer Aoife Dalton being congratulated by captain Hannah O’Connor (left)
Scott Bemand with his star centres (from left) Eve Higgins, Enya Breen and Aoife Dalton
Aoife Dalton (left) pursued by Clovers’ Enya Breen and Wolfhounds team-mate Eve Higgins (©INPHO/Ben Brady)
