Emotional Sam Monaghan hungry for World Cup opportunity after injury
EMOTIONAL RETURN: Sam Monaghan returns to the Irish starting XV after her ACL injury. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady
There is no good time to suffer an ACL injury. Sam Monaghan suffered hers last June when starting for Gloucester Hartpury in the Premiership Women’s Rugby final: forced off just 18 minutes into her club’s defining game of the season.
Add in calf and hamstring issues and a full campaign has been laid waste since, Ireland going on to enjoy a breakout experience at the WXV1s tournament in Canada where they beat the world champions New Zealand, and then clocking in for a Six Nations off the back of it.
If there’s one thing to be thankful for then it’s the fact that the long road back to fitness has been completed just as a World Cup swings around. Monaghan will return to a green jersey for Saturday’s warm-up against Scotland in Cork. Her first Test in 15 months.
“It was really emotional seeing my name on the teamsheet again, not only for me but for my family, teammates, everyone who’s been on the journey with me: physios, S&Cs. It’s been a long road, a lot longer than I thought it would be.
“Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel was very special but it’s given me chances. I missed out on the Six Nations but I got the chance to sit out in the crowd, so I got to be part of that and see how powerful the girls’ performances are on the pitch.
“Hopefully I can add value on Saturday after what they’ve built over the last couple of years. It’s been a great year for us. Yeah, we didn’t finish the Six Nations the way we wanted but I feel like we’ve had a really strong pre-season and we’re really excited for Saturday.”
Monaghan isn’t the only player returning in the nick of time. Beibhinn Parsons, for example, starts at the weekend having suffered another leg break back in December. Others have been stricken at the worst possible moment.
The knee injury Erin King suffered against England in the Six Nations ended her World Cup ambitions there and then. Dorothy Wall’s plans went the same way that same month when she was helped off against Scotland with what turned out to be an Achilles injury.
Both are big performers in Scott Bemand’s Ireland pack and they will be missed on the park in England in August and September. The collective consequences are one thing, for the players themselves it is a disorientating blow.
King has spoken about the unfairness of it all. Wall described herself at the time as devastated.
“Injuries are always so tough,” said Monaghan. “We’ve such a strong connection as a group so when we lose someone we really feel it, on and off the pitch they are such big characters. But they are both working extremely hard and I know how tough a journey it can be.
“After coming out of a long injury myself I am really gutted for them but I’ve no doubt they’ll come back stronger. High level sport… It's given the opportunity for someone else to come in and we’ve had other girls come in and put their hand up and really perform.”
Monaghan returns to the second row as captain for this game in Virgin Media Park, and to a team balancing experience and youth with Ivana Kiripati in the back row and Nancy McGillivray in the centre making their debuts.
Ailish Quinn, fresh off her Leaving Cert, should do the same off the bench. The skipper knows what’s required.
“It's about empowering those girls to do what they've been doing in preseason and giving them the ability to do it on the pitch on Saturday.” Everyone will have their motivations, not least in the second row where Monaghan’s partner, Eimear Corri-Fallon, is another of those stepping back onto the field for a competitive game after a long period spent in casualty and recovery.
“You build up a hunger,” said Monaghan. “It's kind of like you've been starving for the last 13 months and you finally get your opportunity. I'm sure I'll really savour every moment and just want to do the best I can for the squad around me.”
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