Like many girls of her generation, rugby wasn’t on Niamh Briggs’ agenda growing up, but once she took to the field for the first time she was hooked for life.
That wasn’t to say she wasn’t a sports obsessive in her youth, with the Waterford-born star excelling in Gaelic football, soccer and athletics growing up, and anything else that involved a competitive edge.
In fact, it was her GAA background that helped her make a slick transition to playing with the oval ball, her kicking abilities that had been honed by years on the football pitch being put to good use from the kicking tee.
But despite having all the skills required to cut it with the best in the game, not everything came quite as naturally to Briggs when she made her debut for Munster in 2007.
“I didn’t have any aspirations to play rugby growing up, because it wasn’t there for us and there were no pathways in place,” she said.
“But then the college team were looking for numbers, and within 12 months I really took to it.
“I grew up watching it – my dad watched it and my brothers were into it and sports nuts, so I watched it all the time.
“From GAA I could kick and not many girls could kick, so that was something that catapulted me, and my hand-eye coordination meant the two sports were very transferable.
“I had loads to learn, my first game for Munster was my first time playing 15-a-side rugby so I didn’t really understand things like rolling away at the breakdown – I think I got pinged for about seven penalties!”
But through sheer hard work and determination, Briggs rose through the ranks and gained national attention just a year after getting to grips with the thrills and spills of competitive rugby.
The full-back was recognised for her part in Munster’s IRFU Women’s Interprovincial Series victory in 2007 by earning her first call-up to the Ireland side for the 2008 Women’s Six Nations, where she came off the bench to face Italy to earn her first international cap.
Two more appearances followed in that Championship, before helping steer Ireland to a third-place finish in the European Championships later that year – where she earned her first start.
And that summer was the precursor of what was to come from Ireland in years to come, with the crux of that team sticking together to claim two Championship successes in three years half a decade later.
And Briggs admits having the time to nurture a squad helped them to bring everything together in 2013, where Ireland claimed a first Women’s Six Nations crown by completing a Grand Slam – sweeping aside all that came before them.
“I came off the bench against Italy in 2009 for my first cap, and then played against France – I think I got three caps in that first Six Nations campaign,” she added..
“We added a victory here and there for the next few years before we managed to put it all together in 2013.
“We had a good enough draw that we had England and France at home, and we always felt that we could beat anyone at home.
“When you win a couple of games against big teams like England and France you build momentum and that can be a huge thing for a group.
“Everyone was getting on with each other on and off the pitch – things are sticking and all the hard work you are doing off the pitch is paying off on it.”
Everything seemed to click that year for Ireland, as they saw off Wales 12-10 in their opening match of the Championship, with Briggs kicking a vital conversion in the tense battle in Port Talbot, before a resounding 25-0 success over England at Archerstown Road.
With the wind in their sails, they went to Scotland and emerged 30-3 victors with Briggs contributing 15 points – including a late try – before ten points from the No.15 helped secure a 15-10 win over France, with just Italy standing between them and history.
The early signs didn’t look promising as they made the trip to Milan for the final match of the Championship, although even the biblical weather conditions couldn’t stand in their way of a date with destiny, as a tense 6-3 triumph was sealed thanks to two penalties from their talismanic kicker.
“It was nuts, we had done the captain’s run the day before in bright sunshine,” explained Briggs. “Everyone was walking round in shorts and t-shirts but we woke up the next day and it was snowing!
“It was night and day, and then gameplans go out the window – we knew then that opportunities were going to be few and far between, but our pack was unbelievable.
“I think they went through about ten or 12 phases in front of the posts at the end, and Joy Neville produced a big turnover which was an unbelievable moment for us.”
And that win had a lasting effect back at home according to the full-back, as the historic success resonated with Ireland fans.
“The enormity of it – it wasn’t just us winning a Grand Slam it was us being able to project our game live on national television and be able to grow it,” said Briggs.
“Even in 2013 there wasn’t pathways for young girls to play rugby and join clubs like they can now.
“Off the pitch was as important as on the pitch and that was something we were very conscious of.
“I don’t think the enormity really hit until sometime after, so the pressure didn’t play a big part.
“That three or four-year period was brilliant, and when everything is going in the same direction it makes things so much easier, and at that time we definitely did have that.”
The 2013 Grand Slam victory and the two years were followed were very much the halcyon days of Irish women’s rugby, as they reach the World Cup semi-final in 2014, before reclaiming their Women’s Six Nations crown a year later.
Briggs was named in the 2014 World Cup Dream Team after a number of impressive performances in France, including setting up Alison Miller to score in a 17-14 win over New Zealand – the first time an Irish side had conquered the Black Ferns.
But despite taking her side as far as they had ever gone on the global stage, a 40-7 defeat to England in the last four is still something that haunts Briggs, with the thought of what could have been niggling away at her.
“We lost the semi-final and that is the ever-lingering feeling from that tournament,” she added..
“England were worthy winners of the tournament overall but we didn’t perform and showcase the best of us.
“Individually I made some mistakes that I still think about today to be honest, but we were riding the crest of a wave.
“It was an amazing day and put us at another level, but ultimately the goal was to win that tournament.
“I think in that group everyone was giving 110% and everyone was pulling in the same direction and that generated a great spirit and the culture in the squad.”
But after that disappointment there was more success, with another Championship victory in 2015, as Ireland saw off France on points different to lift the Women’s Six Nations trophy for the second time in three years.
And Briggs was still calling the shots from full-back with a number of splendid performances, including another ten-point haul in a 30-5 win over Italy, as well as the late game-winning penalty in the 11-8 success over England.
Having been named captain for the Championship, she was certainly doing her talking on the field – ending as the competition’s top scorer with 49 points – but admits the leadership role took some time to get accustomed to.
“It was strange, and something that I definitely found difficult at the start in terms of being pushed into that forefront of trying to make sure everyone was happy and we’re going in the right direction,” she explained.
“We lost big personalities through retirement after the World Cup, so to be able to go and win the Six Nations without those players was great.
“There was pressure but it was good pressure and I really enjoyed it. There was a big belief in that squad and to be able to continue that momentum was really pleasing.
“It showed we were progressing and evolving in the right way and it was the stuff of dreams.”
From that high there has been a number of injury woes for Briggs, who missed out on subsequent Championship due to numerous issues, including an Achilles strain that saw her ruled out of the 2017 World Cup after initially being named in the squad.
“I felt like I was robbed of my best years, I was definitely improving as a player and a leader, but unfortunately I didn’t get to do it,” she mused.
“To be named in the World Cup squad and just running on the side of the pitch while the girls played rugby was really difficult.
“It was the most isolating moment of my life because you’re just running by yourself, then pick up your bag and head in.
“You become very unattached, you’re there and the match is happening but you’re not really taking anything in.”
After coming to the game later than most, Briggs was eager to make the most of her playing career on the international stage and made a comeback for the 2018 Women’s Six Nations after months of injury hell.
But despite her eagerness to get back onto the field, hindsight has given her a different outlook on what was a troublesome time for her.
“I look at the 2018 tournament and it was a bit of a car crash because I wasn’t physically or mentally ready to be in there,” she admitted.
“The stubbornness kicks in and I probably wasn’t respectful enough to the game because my body wasn’t up to playing international rugby.
“I had only been running a couple of weeks and you’re trying to get your body to do things that it can’t do and it’s incredibly frustrating.
“It was a really difficult spell, I don’t regret going back because I was honoured to play rugby with Ireland, but I wish I was stronger to say that I just want to go back and start enjoying rugby again.”
Even though she has had her ups and downs in the sport, nobody can keep the two-time Irish Women’s Player of the Year away from the rugby field for long, having taken up a role as skilled technical coach with the Munster Women’s team.
If there was anyone in Ireland you would want to take rugby tips off then Briggs would be top of the list, having gone through as many trials and tribulations that the sport has to offer, and still showing as much enthusiasm as when she first took to the field.
“I fell into it a bit by accident but I’m loving it and I’m learning loads, so that’s probably where the next route will take me,” she said.
“It’s a different perspective, because the art of coaching is so much different and that’s another skillset I’ve got to nail down so that the girls I coach are learning something every training session and enjoying it too.
“I’d love to be able to get into high-performance rugby and coach Ireland some day, but I’m aware that it’s not about knowing rugby it’s about being able to coach it too and that’s what I’m learning at the moment.
“I love to see the girls that aren’t in the Ireland squad improving and questioning things, and that gives me an absolute buzz.”
