Considine content in her call to walk away, even as she sees the bright green future blossoming

With the 2025 World Cup on the horizon, the 33-year-old has called it quits on a glittering sporting life despite a stunning comeback to Scott Bemand's burgeoning team. But she's at peace and looks forward to watching things grow

BACK IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL: Eimear Considine with her Ireland teammates during the successful WXV 1 tournament in Canada. Pic: INPHO/Travis Prior

Eimear Considine got the fairytale ending she had hoped for her Test rugby career. The former full-back is now convinced Ireland’s current generation of players has what it takes to fulfil their own dreams as they turn into a World Cup year.

Some of those around the 33-year-old thought she may regret the decision to call it quits on a glittering sporting life that began with the Clare footballers and transformed into an international rugby career, first with Ireland Sevens and then the national women’s XVs. When Considine made the call on Ireland’s return from an excellent WXV 1 campaign in Canada in early November that had delivered a victory over world champions New Zealand and a top-two finish in the top-tier tournament, she was walking away from a squad transformed under head coach Scott Bemand. A return to the 2025 World Cup was approaching over the horizon and the women’s game was on an upward trajectory. Even more of a headscratcher was that Considine had just successfully returned from a long-term knee injury and the birth in 2023 of her first child, son Caolan.