Through injury troubles, World Cup ambitions were main motivator for Aoibheann Reilly

“I do love the 15s game so the World Cup for me is everything,” Reilly said. “When we qualified last year, it was one of the best days ever.

“Qualifying is something I dreamed of since I picked up a rugby ball. Going to a World Cup is the pinnacle of the sport. So as soon as I got injured, my motivation was to put myself in the best spot to get on that plane to England. I knew we had two warm-up games this summer so I really wanted to get back for this Six Nations. That’s how I stayed motivated.” 

Reilly, from Ballinasloe, is a month into her return having been forced out of the Paris Olympics, nine months after recovering from her first ACL tear. The Blackrock and Connacht half-back returned for the Clovers eight months later and rubber-stamped the comeback in Belfast last Saturday as replacement in the opening-round loss to France.

“It was a very emotional moment standing there for the anthems,” Reilly said. “When I tore my ACL for the second time, before the Olympics last summer, I was just focusing getting back for that France game. I knew that everything had to go right in my rehab journey to get back on the pitch so it was a big moment for me and my family just wearing the green again.

“First time around I was 21 and hadn’t played a whole lot for Ireland. So I don’t know if I had that pressure on me to go back. My rehab process was a bit longer but this was a World Cup year and I knew I needed to get back and get game time under my belt, especially after spending so long in sevens. I was very focused to get back and worked with some great physios to get me back fit and ready to perform.

“Coming back from the first one I knew I wanted to go to the Olympics and I knew I wanted to wear that number nine jersey for Ireland in the 15s. So I was really focused on putting my hand up for both teams. It was a pretty packed schedule, I played all the World Series up until Six Nations, then played all the Six Nations games and back into sevens. Played Madrid, the last tournament before the Olympics, then tore it again.

“It was very tough but I had so many team-mates around to support me and my family were amazing. Although it was a really tough moment it has really built me as a player in terms of my resilience. It was an experience I didn’t want to happen anyone, especially myself, but in the future it will really stand to me.” 

Reilly used her time on the sidelines to good effect, including a stint with the Ireland Men’s XVs working with lead performance analyst Vinny Hammond.

“I was very lucky to have been asked to join the men’s team for the November internationals as a support analyst. It was a great way for me to develop my knowledge off-pitch and see how they run things and then also keep learning and growing my rugby IQ while I couldn’t be on-field. That was such a valuable experience and I’m very grateful to the IRFU and to the men’s squad for that.

“So while I was rehabbing here in HPC I would tailor my days with my physio so I could be there for their big pitch sessions and then I headed over to Portugal for a few days for their pre-camp, which was great. I also shadowed a bit on matchday which was a great insight.

“It was really great for developing my game, coming back when I knew I wasn’t able to play. I could still see areas of the game I could improve. So it was about widening my vision. Hopefully it will stand to me in the next few weeks.”