Women's

The Big Interview: Rosie Foley on her rugby family, the pathway for women and Ireland’s campaign

Inpho
Rosie Foley decided from a very young age that she wanted to play rugby for Ireland but she knew the journey was never going to be easy.

Rosie Foley decided from a very young age that she wanted to play rugby for Ireland but she knew the journey was never going to be easy.

The young girl watching her father, Brendan Foley, and brother, the late Anthony Foley, play from the sidelines never imagined she would one day make 39 appearances for Ireland at second row.

Luckily, her determination shone through. The route to the top of the women’s game might have changed dramatically but Foley believes the challenges she was forced to overcome set her up for a fine career.

At the University of Limerick she started their first-ever women’s rugby team – an experience that kickstarted her career – before moving on to play club rugby for Munster and then internationally for Ireland.

“There were very few opportunities for women to play rugby when I was growing up – girls’ teams were nearly non-existent,” said Foley.

“I didn’t start playing rugby until I was 22 years old as a student at the University of Limerick where I founded the first-ever women’s team, which is still running today.

“It had such a big impact on my life. Sport gives so much. It gave me huge confidence in all sorts of areas.

“It gives you opportunities, friendships and the confidence and self-esteem. It teaches you to have trust in yourself, and others, and not to be afraid to try something new.

“It’s about the winning, of course, but it’s also about learning to cope with loss because you have the same ups and downs to deal with later in life.

“It ingrains that mentality in you from a young age and gives you resilience going forward. It just brings so much that is of value in later life no matter what you do.

“I have so many fantastic memories from playing rugby. The highlight of it all was pulling on the Irish jersey for my first cap against Spain. That was such an amazing, special feeling.

“Now I want to give back so that others can experience those highs.

“You’re constantly trying to do that as an ex-athlete because of what you got out of it personally and how sport taught me so many lessons for later life.”

Foley comes from a great rugby family. Her father won 11 international caps between 1976-1981, while brother Anthony collected 62 across ten years.

So it is not surprising she wants to inspire a generation of her own.

She currently teaches at St Anne’s Community College in Killaloe and has put her expertise to good use by founding and coaching the school’s girls rugby team.

“We have about 60 or 70 girls playing rugby at my school,” she added.

“It proves initiatives are working but it is so important for us to make sure more girls get involved and the ones playing continue and move up the age ranks.

“My advice to any young girl starting to play rugby would be to get out there, enjoy playing sport and never take no for an answer.

“My dad lost his mother when he was very young which was very difficult.

“But whoever brought him by the hand to St Mary’s rugby club in Limerick to play U10 rugby changed the course of his life.

“It teaches you to have trust in others and not to be afraid to try something new.

“Sport gives so much. It had such a big impact on my life. It gave me huge confidence in all sorts of areas other than sport.”

Foley believes education plays a pivotal role in improving participation and inclusivity in sport and knows that more needs to be done to keep girls active during their teenage years.

“They need to make sure all pupils – male and female – are involved in sport from a young age,” she added.

“And we can’t forget children with disabilities either. We need to make sure all young people have access to playing sport and activities.

“We need more policies introduced to get more females playing sport so that is becomes more ingrained in our culture.

“Research shows girls between the ages of 13 and 18 are participating less often in sport and that needs to be changed.”

On the field, the 2019 Women’s Six Nations has been a mixed bag for Ireland so far, with one win from their four matches so far.

They were bested by France in Round Four but Foley is still encouraged by what she has seen this year.

“Ireland are in a rebuilding phase at the moment,” she said.

“We can take lots of positive out of the tournament so far this year.

“They’re bringing in a lot of new players who have been playing well in the inter-club competition here in Ireland to reward them.

“They’re giving them the experience and opportunity to play against very experienced teams in the Six Nations.

“We were very disappointed with Italy beating us in the last round, but there is lots of thing we can take from it.

“Our scrummaging has been excellent, and so has our attack.  There is plenty to build on.”