'If I had a physical job I would be goosed' - Nic a Bháird finds ACL silver lining

SEEING THE LIGHT: Irish Rugby International, Munster Player and Tackle Your Feelings ambassador Deirbhile Nic a Bháird. Pic: Ben Brady, Inpho

Deirbhile Nic a Bháird had reason to both curse and give thanks for the timing when she suffered a serious ACL injury in the week before Ireland’s appearance at the inaugural WXV tournament in Dubai late last year.

The injury itself was unfortunate, coming as it did off a random collision at the back of a lineout in a prep game against the USA in Dublin, but it happened after she put pen to paper and had committed to one of the IRFU’s full-time contracts.

A standout performer at No.8 for the national team during last season’s disastrous Six Nations tournament, Nic a Bháird had decided to defer a PhD and commit all her efforts to rugby roughly a month before her current season was ruined.

“The way I see it is I am incredibly lucky that I had taken the decision to go back and take a contract before something like this happened because I know girls who have done ACLs playing club or in other sports and they don’t have a fraction of the supports we are getting.

“I have more or less full-time physio, full-time access to a high-class facility, we were in with surgeons straight away, all that stuff. This is a clearcut example of how important this development has been regardless of all the other nuances and catching up and all that stuff.

“This is protecting players,” the 28-year-old Munster forward explained. “That is more or less the bottom line and it has given me a lot of security because if I had a physical job I would be goosed.”

She is five months post-op now so just over halfway through the rehab. An MCL was damaged in the same incident but didn’t need surgery after some pre-op work and there have been no major setbacks on the road back so far. More reasons to be grateful.

There was a welcome return to some running last month and the target she has in mind now is the national training camp next September. That will be the jump-off point for Ireland’s next appearance at the WXVs a month later.

The physical recuperation is one thing, the mental toll another.

Nic a Bháird is perfectly aware that she is just one in a frightfully long line of sportswomen to have suffered from the dreaded ACL curse. 

She sees more evidence of it in the IRFU’s high-performance centre where there are at least two others rehabbing the same problem.

Aoibheann Reilly, scrum-half for Ireland in Sunday’s Six Nations loss to Italy, only returned from one for that WXV in the Middle East. Enya Breen, a centre at the RDS, was playing her first game of rugby of any stripe since her own experience with the issue.

For Nic a Bháird, there have been times when she has handled it “poorly” from a mental perspective.

“Ahm, it’s been mixed because this has been my first major injury, my first time on the sidelines for any extended period of time, so there was a lot of learning involved. It’s the first time I haven’t been physically active in a normal way my entire life.” 

The Ireland coaches insisted she stay involved, teammates like Breen have been invaluable supports during it all, and she is passing this care and empathy on down the line by helping to push the new Tackle Your Feelings schools online teaching app.

Her PhD, which examines how digital technology impacts the way children communicate through screens and in general, goes hand-in-hand with the new mental health campaign which is being launched by Zurich and Rugby Players Ireland (RPI).

“This year with my injury I’ve had, not more time, but a different schedule to usual. The first major opportunity I had through the programme was to volunteer at the Young Scientist awards.

“It was just the fun and absolute joy working with really enthusiastic young people and the interest in wellbeing programmes and projects through the schools. There was a new category for wellbeing and some projects did really well out of that.

“It showed me how important this is for young people and to their teachers and parents. It’s such a good tool for people to use.”