Cork rugby ace Deirbhile Nic a Bháird has learned from previous World Cup setback

Eight years on from being in a training squad for Ireland’s most recent appearance at the tournament, Deirbhile Nic a Bháird once again finds herself on the brink of making the cut for the Women’s Rugby World Cup.

A native of Cork, Nic a Bháird was one of nine uncapped players in a 48-strong preparation group that the late Tom Tierney selected for the home-based RWC in 2017. Whereas the Old Belvedere and Munster star is now plying her trade in the back-row having previously made her Ireland 15s debut as a hooker during the 2019 Six Nations Championship, she was operating as a winger back then.

While an arm injury that saw her missing out on some warm-up encounters and training camps might have played some part in her exclusion from the final squad in 2017, Nic a Bháird believes she is a much better player now as she currently prepares alongside 36 other hopefuls for this summer’s World Cup finals in England.

ROLLERCOASTER

“It has been a rollercoaster, for sure. I was on the wing then and then I came back in and got my actual first cap playing in the front-row. Finally found my home in the back-row, where I feel like I should have been for a lot longer anyway,” Nic a Bháird remarked at a recent media day in the IRFU’s High Performance Centre in Dublin.

It all has its positives and drawbacks at different stages of it, but I’m glad to have found my feet in it a bit more. 

"I’ve been involved in World Cup prep campaigns before and missed out late in that selection process, but I probably wasn’t ready at the time either. I was probably only 20, 21 maybe and fairly fresh.

“Although I would have loved to have been part of it at the time, looking back on it I’m a much better athlete, a much better professional, a much better player now I think than I was then. There probably were disappointments at the time, but looking back on it, I’ve grown a lot since.” 

A year on from missing the cut for the 15s tournament, Nic a Bháird featured for Ireland at the 2018 edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens and helped them to achieve a highly-respectable sixth place finish. Alongside her in the set-up for those finals were Stacey Flood, Eve Higgins and Amee-Leigh Costigan (nee Murphy Crowe), all of whom are also in the training squad for this year’s World Cup.

That was a special time for Nic a Bháird, but it only helps to make her all the more determined to make the cut for this year’s RWC. She has had a strong support network behind her throughout her journey as a rugby player across a host of levels and she wants to be included in Scott Bemand’s final squad for the tournament as much for them as anyone else.

“It’s hard to put in words how much it would mean. I think for myself and for my family, and my friends, everyone that has helped me along the way. As much as I want it for myself, I definitely want it for all those people as well. To be able to say that they had a part in getting me there and they certainly have."