Newly-crowned Ireland Player of the Year Aoife Dalton receives her trophy at May’s Rugby Players Ireland Awards
BY RICHARD BULLICK
IT was three years ago this week that a teenage Aoife Dalton marked her Ireland debut with a try in Shizuoka against Sunday’s opening World Cup opponents Japan, and it’s fair to say the outstanding young Offaly woman has more than fulfilled that early eastern promise.
Dalton goes into this tournament as Ireland Player of the Year, having made the official 2025 Guinness Six Nations Team of the Championship and recently been named as one of the top 50 female players on the planet by Rugby Pass, World Rugby’s global digital media platform.
Although she just turned 22 in May, Dalton has already won two senior interpro titles with Leinster and two Celtic Challenge crowns with Wolfhounds, being a very young vice-captain of both teams for the second of those triumphs, underlining her leadership qualities.
Sparkling gem Dalton, who will win her 25th cap in Ireland’s World Cup opener, is an imposing presence despite being short of stature at 5’2” and was chosen this week as one of RTE’s ‘six stars to watch out for’ across all the competing teams at this tournament.
With her modest manner and willingness to do the dirty work, Dalton can easily go under the radar yet scooping the top prize at this spring’s Irish Rugby Awards means she has now won Young Player of the Year and Player of the Year gongs at both provincial and national level.
That first cap in the 57-22 away win against Japan started a run of being in 24 consecutive matchday squads until this month’s first World Cup warm-up game against Scotland, with a total of 20 starts and failing to make it onto the field on only one occasion.
Newcomer Nancy McGillivray got her first cap in that Scottish clash in Cork ahead of Scott Bemand finalising his World Cup squad, but Dalton was back in the No 13 jersey against Canada the following week and will start as usual against Japan this weekend.
She goes into this competition as one of Ireland’s established stars who is starting to be talked about plenty, yet Dalton never takes anything for granted and even just going to a World Cup is still something Aoife feels she has to pinch herself about.
“It’s really surreal. It’s something I didn’t think I’d ever do when I was younger. But it’s starting to feel real now with all the kit coming out, and we’ve just had our last session on the pitch here,” she told Local Women Sport on the eve of the squad’s departure for England.
Unlike namesake Aoife Wafer who grew up as a self-confessed fan-girl of the Irish women’s team, who she pursued for photos and autographs, Dalton didn’t catch the rugby bug until later so the 2014 World Cup heroics by the girls in green largely passed her by aged 11.
A keen young gaelic footballer in those days, Dalton was in good company as England’s current World Player of the Year Ellie Kildunne has admitted to not knowing that 2014 World Cup was on, even though she had already taken up rugby by then and England won it!
“Even that 2017 World Cup that was in Ireland, I knew it was on but just watched from home rather than going to any of the games. I hadn’t long taken up rugby then and never imagined myself breaking into an Irish squad or anything like that in the future,” says Aoife.
The Dalton household in Clara, county Offaly, was much more orientated towards gaelic games and Aoife herself was a useful footballer who captained Moate Community School in neighbouring Westmeath to the All Ireland Under 16 B title in 2019, scoring 1-3 in the final.
The Covid-19 pandemic denied Moate the opportunity to play in the Under 20 A final they had qualified for the following season and Dalton hasn’t played any gaelic football for the past few years, with professional rugby understandably having to take priority.
But when the Ireland World Cup squad was asked to pose for portrait shots which reflected who they are, Dalton proudly displayed a Clara GAA jersey, no doubt to the delight of her dad Tony who is Chairman of the oldest club in Offaly, founded way back in 1884.
Stalwart Tony Dalton was still a prominent player when Clara won their most recent Offaly Senior Championship in 2009 and one of Aoife’s brothers has played county football but the local gaelic community are right behind her even though she has chosen the rugby route.
“Huge congratulations to our former player Aoife Dalton, who is representing Ireland at the Women’s Rugby World Cup. Aoife, you are a fantastic role model for all our young girls, showing what hard work, dedication and passion for sport can achieve.
“We are so proud of you and wish you the very best of luck in the competition. Go shine on the world stage, Aoife! You always have the support of everyone here at home in Clara!” Clara Ladies GFC proudly posted on Facebook.
Former gaelic footballer Aoife Dalton proudly displaying the jersey of Clara GAA club where dad Tony is Chairman
The parent club, An Clárach GAC, posted: “Massive congratulations to our own Aoife Dalton, proudly representing Ireland at the Women’s Rugby World Cup. An inspiration to young girls at home and around the country, we wish you the best of luck in the World Cup Aoife.”
“The GAA is a huge part of my family and I was in the (Clara) kit as soon as I could walk,” says Dalton, who had captained the Tullamore Under 16 rugby girls to silverware 12 months before skippering Moate to that historic success in gaelic football.
“A lot of the (Ireland rugby) girls have played gaelic football from an early age and that has been useful, even for hand-eye co-ordination and catching and stuff – you’ve just been doing it for so long it isn’t hard to come into another sport even where the ball is a bit different.
“Those skills are quite transferable really. I see other girls who have come from hockey, or athletics in Leigh’s (Amee-Leigh Costigan) case, bringing particular attributes from their sports and no doubt the same applies to those of us from a GAA background,” she reflects.
She moved on to Dublin-based AIL outfit Old Belvedere three years ago but there’s a big framed photo of Dalton in an Ireland jersey in a display case on the wall of the clubhouse at Tullamore RFC, where her rugby journey began.
Ahead of the World Cup, the IRFU issued images of squad members sporting the colours of their ‘team of origin’ and, when Tullamore proudly posted the photo of Dalton wearing their jersey, it prompted many dozens of warm messages of support and affection for Aoife.
“Everyone at Tullamore Rugby Club is incredibly proud to see one of our own named in the Ireland Women’s Rugby World Cup Squad. Your journey from Spollanstown to the world stage is an inspiration to all our players, young and old.
“You’ve always shown what hard work, passion and perseverance can achieve – now go show the world! We’ll be cheering you on every step of the way!” the club declared in a post which quickly gathered nearly 600 likes.
“Tullamore and Clara are rivals in GAA terms, so I always have to say I’m from Clara! But I owe so much to Tullamore RFC. The catchment area they have is really only a few rural towns in Offaly so they do a great job producing and developing players,” says Aoife.
Ireland star Aoife Dalton sporting the colours of her first team Tullamore RFC for the ‘jerseys of origin’ photoshoot
Dalton is a brand ambassador for Opel, who have also a partnership with Tullamore rugby club, and it was a theme she’d touched on recently in an ‘It Takes Everyone’ video produced in conjunction with the IRFU.
“Grassroots is so important, so many of us here have come from small clubs all over the country and only for Tullamore I wouldn’t even be here today – like they were the ones who supported me and got me into rugby in the first place,” declared Dalton on the video.
While Dalton didn’t burst onto the wider radar until that tour to the Far East, she was part of a very special cohort who helped Leinster lift the Under 18 interpro title in style in September 2021, around the very time Ireland were failing to qualify for the last World Cup!
Captain Wafer, vice-captain Dalton, Dannah O’Brien and Ruth Campbell are all in the World Cup squad, Erin King would have been but for injury, Vicky Elmes-Kinlan nearly made the cut while Katie Whelan is the next cab on Ireland’s rank of scrumhalves.
Leah Tarpey and Emma Tilly were capped by Ireland on that tour to Japan and Sarah Delaney in Dubai the following autumn. Did they have a sense then just what a golden generation those Leinster U18s would turn out to be?
“I probably didn’t realise it at the time. I was honestly just such good friends with the girls – Vicky, Erin, Katie, Dannah – and now we’re all in around this (Irish set-up). It’s crazy to look back, we still talk about those days.
“Ruth was there as well, (Olympian) Alannah Fitzpatrick from the sevens, so much talent in one provincial age group squad. Have to say, 2003 was a good year for rugby babies anyways!” she says with a smile.
Aoife Dalton is a brand ambassador for Tullamore Motors Opel
With the fallout from that World Cup qualification failure helping prompt the IRFU to increase investment in the women’s game and establish better pathways, Dalton was part of the first intake to the new National Talent Squad in the spring of 2022.
She was among a batch of fresh faces selected for that Ireland tour to Japan a few months later and typically tries to deflect credit for her debut try, to centre partner Enya Breen in a previous interview and this time to fellow young gun O’Brien.
It had seemed set to be a daunting debut as Ireland went 15-0 down inside the opening 11 minutes, but Dalton’s first try in the green jersey gave the tourists a narrow interval lead. They powered on to victory and the player herself has likewise kept progressing steadily.
Ireland skipper Edel McMahon told me recently that try was the start of Dalton being compared to the country’s most capped player of all time, Lynne Cantwell, who is of similar short stature, but Aoife doesn’t deal in hyperbole herself.
“I think I got lucky, Dannah did all the work – she just put me through a gap. It’s a nice memory obviously, scoring on debut, but it was all so surreal. There weren’t that many in the stadium, they still had Covid restrictions at the time.
“We had so many new caps, which was maybe no bad thing, Japan wouldn’t have known what was coming. We probably didn’t think we could put in a performance like that but, in fairness, Japan had their homework done on us for the second Test and put tries on us.”
The comprehensive victory for an inexperienced Ireland team was very encouraging and, although Japan bounced back with a 29-10 win the following week in Tokyo, that tour was a real launchpad for Dalton, whose career has gone from strength to strength since.
The following few months completed a hat-trick for Dalton as she also got a win in her first AIL game with Old Belvedere and then picked up Player of the Match on her Leinster debut as the women in blue beat Connacht.
From there, Dalton started all five fixtures in that tough 2023 Six Nations campaign while still a teenager and has kept pushing forward at a time when every match she plays for Leinster, Wolfhounds and Ireland are broadcast so performances can be scrutinised closely.
“It’s hard to believe it’s almost three years since my first cap in Japan. The time has flown by,” she reflects of a period when so much has happened in terms of Ireland’s renaissance and her own star rising, yet the wholesome essence of Aoife Dalton remains the same.
“I’ll probably never change my personality, it’s just the way I am,” she says softly, before reflecting further on how that hallmark understated equilibrium has served her well in negotiating the roller-coaster ride which elite sport must seem at times.
Vice-captain Aoife Dalton (centre) addresses her Leinster team at half-time in last season’s interpro final victory
Last summer she was linking up with Leinster on the back of having been an unused sub for Ireland – for the first time since her debut – in the last Six Nations game, whereas this time she came into World Cup preparation camp after a much more productive campaign.
Dalton was one of only two Irishwomen to play all 400 minutes of this spring’s Six Nations, winning Player of the Match against Italy, and then making the Team of the Championship and being crowned Women’s Player of the Year at those Rugby Players Ireland Awards.
But the grounded Dalton doesn’t get carried away with any accolades which come her way and she went into this pre-season with the same mix of work ethic, hunger and humility that she had done 12 months earlier, wanting to keep proving herself and developing.
“Yeah definitely, it’s kind of just like a non-negotiable for me I’d say. Winning an award doesn’t change anything in terms of what you need to do. I think that approach is a big part of how I’ve gotten this far and it’s how the like of Dannah has got this far as well.
“I know the two of us definitely don’t let things go to our head, either whenever we’ve done well or in the opposite scenario when you possibly feel you left a little bit out there and didn’t deliver the performance you would like.
“It’s probably the essence of elite sport though – you don’t have time to cry over things or feel bad about them, you just have to move on quickly from disappointments, and likewise you can never rest on your laurels when things have gone well.
“As long as you understand that reality, you can take some satisfaction from awards. I’m incredibly grateful to have been picked on the Team of the Six Nations but Ireland Player of the Year was the one that meant most to me as it was on the votes of fellow players.”
Accolades and criticism can be subjective, while a more important variable which a player can’t control is selection so it’s important never to take being picked for granted, or drop your head if a close call doesn’t go your way on some occasion.
Boss Bemand praised Dalton’s leadership ahead of the 2024 Six Nations, in which she then didn’t start any of the three home matches, but she was in the run-on line-up for eight of the nine Tests the team played this past season. However, her overall value wasn’t in question.
“Just because of the depth in my position, in my head I never ever feel safe in a squad. I never assume my place in the squad ever, never mind on the starting team. I just feel the second you get comfortable is when it goes sideways for you so I try to not be like that.”
With players like Dalton around, we can be confident that there’ll be no complacency either in these first two World Cup group games against Japan and Spain or a temptation to look ahead to the glamour match against world champions New Zealand early next month.
“As a group we take it one game at a time anyway. All eyes are on Japan at the minute – they’re a tricky enough team, they’re very well drilled, they’ve got kicking variety as well so we have to come out, get a quick start and go from there really,” says Aoife.
Dalton’s insatiable appetite seems to be matched by infinite physical courage, as exemplified last September by bravely launching herself head-first for Ireland’s first try against Australia two weeks after taking a nasty bang to the face in the interpro final at the same venue.
Another fortnight on, she had to come off for running repairs in the New Zealand game after catching a boot to the face when shooting up to make the tackle which ultimately led to Wafer’s first try, the perfect response from Ireland to the Black Ferns taking the lead.
Moate Community School gaelic captain Aoife Dalton lifts the trophy after her side’s All Ireland U16 B final victory
With Dalton returned from the blood-bin, she got stuck in straight away and soon dived on a loose ball ahead of Wafer’s second try on a night that would end in a famous Irish victory over the world champions in Vancouver.
Her ferocious physicality is almost the stuff of legend now but you can’t help asking where the tough, unflinching fearlessness that is the hallmark of this softly-spoken, kindly little woman of 5’2” comes from?
“It’s probably from when I was younger – the GAA definitely puts it in you! – but my dad as well, he never let us pull out of anything. I grew up with three brothers too, so they’ve definitely toughened me up. I was well used to the rough and tumble before rugby!
“I had an HIA (head injury assessment) when I was off (in the New Zealand game), but don’t think I really needed one, because it was more my nose where I got the bang. I was absolutely fine but we just couldn’t stop the blood coming out.
“Once they got that cleared up, I just wanted to get back on and I felt fine afterwards. I was replaced after about 50 minutes (Eve Higgins came on again) but it was just such a special night for us as a team, to beat the world champions.”
The normally understated Dalton led the race onto the field from the Ireland bench at the final whistle, leaping on top of Breen, pumping the air with her left fist and screaming into the night sky with delight before pulling the arriving Higgins in to join a three-way centres’ hug.
“I know I’ve used the word before, but it was another really surreal moment. Like we went into that game with absolutely no expectation on us, so in a way it was nearly easy for us to go in and throw everything at it,” reflects Dalton who managed a jersey swap afterwards.
“As a group, we had the belief but other people were writing us off and saying that playing in the top tier of WXV would be a waste of time for Ireland as we wouldn’t even be competitive, so there was probably a bit of a chip on our shoulder going over there.
“I think that win against the Black Ferns got us a lot of support back home, even though the game itself took place in the middle of the night Irish-time and we were in our own bubble in Canada so a bit removed from the reaction.
“But it’s brilliant to see the increased support we’re getting at home matches now, and I couldn’t believe the amount of people who were there when we did our open session down in Ennis last month.
“It’s really uplifting for the girls to see so many young fans in particular and it’s exciting to think of the following we’ll have for this World Cup, both in the stadiums themselves and watching back home. We really appreciate it and want to do people proud,” she concluded.
Vice-captain Aoife Dalton celebrates with team-mates after Leinster won the Under 18 interpro title four years ago
Sitting down with Local Women Sport was the last in a whirlwind round of interviews for Dalton on eve-of-departure media day, a feeding frenzy conducted on the indoor pitch at the IRFU’s High Performance Centre with several dozen journalists spread around.
We’d missed our designated slot earlier on an afternoon of many moving parts but at least Aoife could feel she was on the home straight finishing off with someone she knows well and who has followed her career closely these past three years.
Dalton likes to stay under the radar and you imagine the tough physical work which she’s normally involved in on that pitch is more comfortable territory than being grilled or expected to talk about herself but this pleasant, bright young woman is perfectly capable of handling it.
Being in more demand now is inevitable given Dalton’s rise to stardom, and even before winning Ireland Player of the Year, she was the only member of the squad to do two solo top table press conferences in match weeks during this spring’s Six Nations.
Immediately before talking to me, Aoife had been doing an interview with RTE, which they led with that evening, and The (Irish) Sun also went with Dalton next morning as the definitive voice of the squad on departure day.
Ireland head coach Bemand talks admiringly about Dalton’s leadership and stability while co-captain McMahon and the previous Saturday’s stand-in skipper Neve Jones were both singing her praises to me as we were waiting around on media day.
Another diminutive powerhouse with blonde hair and a voracious appetite for work, Jones was actually quoted regarding Dalton when that Rugby Pass list of the world’s top 50 players appeared recently.
Jones and Dalton were two of four Irish representatives to make the cut alongside loose forwards Wafer and King, Six Nations Player of the Championship and World Rugby’s Breakthrough Player of the Year respectively.
The four countries above Ireland in the world rankings accounted for 35 of the 50 players, England leading the way with 13 followed by New Zealand’s nine, seven Canadians and six from France. Australia, USA and Scotland have three each and there are two Italians.
Dalton is one of seven centres, alongside New Zealand duo Stacey Waaka and Sylvia Brunt, Canadian captain Alex Tessier, the USA’s three-time Olympian Alev Kelter, French great Gabrielle Vernier and England’s Meg Jones, Aoife’s partner in the Team of the Six Nations.
A teenage Aoife Dalton on the attack during her try-scoring Ireland debut on their tour to Japan in August 2022 (©INPHO/Akito Iwamoto)
Among those who didn’t make the cut were the 29-year-old who wore the No 13 jersey for the USA in their World Cup opener against England, Olympic medallist Ilona Maher, a social media phenomenon with eight million followers, who is nearly 5’11” and more than 14 stone!
The Rugby Pass citation said: “Quietly spoken Dalton packs a big punch on the field despite her small stature. Taking down opposition bigger and heavier, the centre never shies away from contact and despite being only 22 does a lot of organising on the pitch defensively.
“She’ll suddenly pop up with ball in hand as a threat in attack as well as being a workhorse in defence. Miss Consistent, she does the unseen work and rarely misses a tackle,” it concluded of a player who, like hooker Jones, could readily play openside flanker.
“Aoife Dalton is the glue to our defence – she is hard-working, hard-hitting and a defensive guru! The little pocket-rocket explodes through defensive lines with utter power and flare,” declared Ulsterwoman Jones in the accompanying comment.
It feels like a long time ago since Aoife was trying to escape Jones as Neve went around interviewing her uncapped colleagues at the start of that tour to Japan, though that instinct and the short chat which followed offered a telling first glimpse of the shy but shrewd Dalton.
She’s always content to remain in the background, never craving to be the centre of attention, and although glamorous – with her (now waist-length) blonde hair, immaculate tan, nails done and bright yellow boots as constant features – Aoife is genuinely unshowy.
Likewise, there’s no contradiction between, on one hand, Aoife’s softly-spoken persona and sweet smile and, on the other, that uncompromising physicality and absolute bravery which are such hallmarks of Dalton the player. They’re all authentic aspects of who she is.
A very vocal communicator as anchor and key organiser in the Leinster, Wolfhounds and Ireland backlines, Dalton literally does her talking on the pitch and readily leaves the limelight to others off it, though her qualities are now being recognised more widely.
Touted as a strong contender for the inaugural women’s British and Irish Lions tour of 2027, Dalton will inevitably be more of a ‘marked woman’ coming into this World Cup because of the awards and accolades she has attracted recently.
But your correspondent didn’t ask Dalton in this interview if she’d feel under any more pressure as a result of her expanding profile because of knowing that, in her mind, these things won’t change anything in how she goes about her business, so make little difference.
As an Opel brand ambassador, she has just got another nice new sponsored car and features on their big billboard adverts ahead of the World Cup, while a huge image of Dalton accompanies Ireland men’s captain Caelan Doris on the side of the Leinster Rugby bus.
She has also been the joint face of Leinster’s #NeverLessThanEverything brand with Josh van der Flier since late last year but Dalton’s feet are firmly on the ground and there’s no danger of her getting big-headed or neglecting the hard work which has brought her this far.
Fast, slippery, powerful, ferocious, smart, always switched on, utterly relentless, mentally tough, physically fearless, willing to do the unglamorous jobs and incredibly industrious, Dalton can be a real handful for the opposition and is a great asset for Ireland.
Dalton’s breakdown work is excellent and, although an attacking threat herself, she’s as happy hitting rucks or running those hard decoys as making blistering breaks or scoring tries, of which she has six so far for Ireland.
Exceptionally calm, incredibly brave, absolutely selfless, with a real team-first mentality and just genuinely nice, the durable, diligent, dependable Dalton is not only a coach’s dream and the perfect team-mate but noticeably beloved by her elders including past players.
Her now-retired former Leinster captain and Ireland team-mate turned pundit Hannah O’Connor has said Dalton would be the first name on the teamsheet if she had to pick a backline of all those she played with down through the years, which is high praise indeed.
The Leinster head coach she served so brilliantly, Tania Rosser, has the highest regard for Dalton too and likewise former Ireland team physio Roisin Murphy, who has made an excellent comparison between Aoife and Armagh gaelic legend Lauren McConville.
Winner of the Backroom category at the 2025 Local Women Sport Awards, Murphy played with our LGFA Player of the Year recipient McConville early in her Orchard career and likewise was part of the Ireland set-up for Dalton’s first couple of years in international rugby.
“Aoife Dalton is one of those players you miss being in the environment with, she’s a really great girl and it’s brilliant to see her being recognised now, even beyond Irish shores, and getting the credit she deserves as a fab player and exemplary professional,” says Roisin.
“I’m a huge fan of Aoife. She’s short in height obviously but just so powerful, fearless and determined as well as being quick and agile and reading the game well. There are certain players who make you want to watch a game and she’s undoubtedly one of those.
“I love watching her play and it’s nice to see her thriving for I know how focused she is and the work she puts in. She’s hard as nails physically, but has such a nice nature. Aoife actually reminds me of Lauren McConville in so many ways, both on and off the pitch.
“It’s not just the superficial resemblance (being short and blonde), but how they both turn up, just get stuck in, have high standards and drive values and the team ethos. They’re really tough girls on the pitch but just the loveliest people,” she declares.
Dalton resonates with this Armagh man for parochial reasons too, including those shared characteristics and striking resemblance to All Star McConville, plus the compelling parallels with another Orchard county gaelic footballer Emily Druse.
Apart from being two of the most thoroughly likeable young people you will come across, Druse and Dalton were both born in the same month and, the weekend that Aoife captained Moate to that All Ireland U16 B title, Emily won the A final with St Catherine’s College!
The final local link in my mind is the multi-talented Leah McGoldrick from Armagh, the best young outside centre in Ireland before being cruelly cut down with injury. Years ago, we’d have envisaged her coming through to wear the green No 13 jersey at this World Cup.
Sadly Leah’s expected progression to international rugby was thwarted while her fellow stars from that successful Ulster Under 18 team of 2016 in Jones, Brittany Hogan and Claire Boles are in their prime, preparing to represent Ireland at this World Cup.
Even now, one spares a thought for McGoldrick, but there’s much consolation in knowing that there could be nobody better to fill that shirt she dreamed of than Dalton, not only a special player but, like Leah, a courageous and unassuming individual devoid of ego.
Because of the exemplary professional and unimpeachable person she is, it genuinely gives a lot of people pleasure, pride and delight to see Dalton do well and how her potential as a national treasure is starting to be realised more widely.
Dalton’s loveliness manifested itself strikingly in that RTE interview immediately before this one where her constant theme was gratitude – to Tullamore RFC where her rugby journey began and Aoife’s supportive parents, to her current coaches and team-mates with Ireland.
“What Tullamore have produced over recent years is amazing. They punch above their weight. I’d say they were one of the first clubs to have a girls’ minis section set up. I’m so lucky to have had that support,” she told RTE.
“They got me involved in the first place and, even now, any (Ireland) matchday squad that I’m named in doesn’t go by without hearing from people at the club. I owe a lot to them,” she enthused.
“My mam and dad too. They’ve supported me the whole way. They would do anything for me, bring me anywhere. I owe a lot to them and the support they give me,” said Aoife, whose parents were in Le Mans when she scored her first Six Nations try, against France.
“I owe a lot to the (Ireland) coaches. They’ve helped me find my strengths and build on that over the last year. I was probably a bit raw coming in at only 19 and without much clue. It’s the group around me as well, they give me so much confidence to go out and play my best.”
Watching Dalton thrive and blossom brings joy and, having written before the Six Nations about Aoife being something of a best-kept secret, it’s great to see an ever-expanding audience are converting to the gospel some of us have been preaching for some time.
The year Aoife was born, your correspondent had the privilege of being Brian O’Driscoll’s ghost-writer for the 2003 World Cup in Australia and, much as she’d baulk about being bracketed with such a superstar, there are compelling parallels between the Leinster duo.
Back then, O’Driscoll was a compact, powerful figure in the green No 13 jersey, a player in his early-20s who had debuted very young, who also had longer, blonder hair than his team-mates, who displayed physicality, courage and who could scrap at the breakdown!
Brian was actually two years and five months older at the time of that tournament than Aoife is now and he was heading to his second World Cup, had been on a Lions tour by then and had captained Ireland in the previous Six Nations in Keith Wood’s absence.
So it isn’t a perfect comparison by any means, and an incredibly high bar by which to judge Dalton almost to the extent of being unfair, but one can do so safe in the knowledge that any such hyperbole will simply wash over her and neither apply pressure nor incite conceit.
They’re quite different personalities too, but my main justification for mentioning the pair in the same breath ahead of this World Cup is being aware of how highly Dalton is rated by those on the inside who really know what she brings to this Irish set-up on and off the field.
A sparkling gem of a player and person who will never blow her own trumpet, Aoife Dalton is simply a warm, wholesome, hard-working, humble, honourable, likeable, brave, brilliant, beautiful little human who deserves every reward which comes her way.
And the best thing is, as someone who processes plenty, believes little, says less and quietly goes about her business in unflappable fashion, Dalton would take such gushingly effusive praise with a self-effacing grimace, a healthy pinch of salt and not give it a second thought!
A fast start will be an important priority this weekend considering Ireland fell 14 points behind to Japan at the 2017 World Cup, and in this month’s two warm-up matches, never mind Dalton’s debut when that 15-point deficit was the biggest they’ve ever recovered from.
“We didn’t start very well in both warm-up matches but finished a lot stronger, it just took us a while to get going. We’re very glad to have had those tests. Our session out there today was better than any in the last few weeks,” Dalton told RTE that final afternoon in Dublin.
“We’re in a good place coming into the World Cup. I’ve no doubt we’ll have our ups and downs as we always do but I can’t wait to get stuck into it now,” said Aoife, one of just five survivors in Sunday’s starting team from that proud day she made her debut in the Far East.
Aoife Dalton (top) celebrates Ireland’s famous upset of world champions New Zealand last year with Enya Breen
Leinster Player of the Year Aoife Dalton scores a hair-raising try during their successful interpro title defence
Aoife Dalton and her Ireland team-mates have been training hard in pre-World Cup camps since early June
Clara GAA club have been showing their proud support for local star Aoife Dalton ahead of her rugby World Cup
The naturally reserved Aoife Dalton is becoming more comfortable conducting solo top table press conferences
Aoife Dalton has star billing alongside the Ireland men’s captain Caelan Doris on Leinster Rugby’s team bus
Centre Aoife Dalton runs at the USA defence during the win which saw Ireland clinch runners-up place in WXV1 (©INPHO/Travis Prior)
Young centre Aoife Dalton was among three Ireland players in the 2025 Six Nations Team of the Championship
Aoife Dalton in Dubai before Ireland’s WXV3 title win with (from left) Edel McMahon, Roisin Murphy, Eimear Corri
Aoife Dalton scrambles over for Ireland’s opening try in their impressive victory over Australia last September
Ireland Player of the Year Aoife Dalton on the attack in the World Cup warm-up defeat to Canada at Ravenhill
Aoife Dalton, named as one of the World’s Top 50 female players, punches above her weight in the green jersey
