A black eye Jeamie Deacon is happy to display

Students of the High School in Rathgar got something of a surprise on Monday when their maths teacher Ms Deacon arrived with a black eye.

But Jeamie Deacon couldn’t be happier. The bruised face was sustained in pursuit of a dream that becomes a reality today when she wins a first senior cap in an historic Autumn international against England. The 29-year-old bubbles with enthusiasm as she describes her feeling on getting the call from coach Tom Tierney to start on the right wing against the world champions at The Stoop (3pm)

“I was thinking during the week of all the training, all the hours in the gym, to get a first cap, I would do it all again! I am so excited, I can’t wait!” Similar to many of her teammates, Deacon is something of a code-hopper. While the cross over from Gaelic Football to rugby has become common place with established Irish women’s rugby names such as Niamh Briggs and Nora Stapleton, Deacon has come to rugby via an illustrious hockey career.