Ireland's Eimear Considine has admitted she feared her time with the Irish women's rugby team was over after enduring multiple injuries and significant personal milestones in her career.
The 33-year-old suffered a series of knee and hamstring injuries since 2022, and during this time, she also gave birth.
Given the mix of challenges and celebrations in the life of the Limerick secondary school teacher, it would be natural to assume that retiring from rugby might have been a strong consideration. However, Considine made her return for Ireland in their 36-10 win over the Wallaroos last weekend.
Considine showed little rust and earned the Player of the Match award for her performance as Ireland's fullback.
Next week, Ireland will face the New Zealand Black Ferns in the WXV1 series, and Considine is likely to feature again for Scott Bemand's side.
When asked if she thought her time with Ireland was over after all she had been through, Considine admitted that she did, in fact, think it was the end.
"I never imagined I'd get back to playing for Ireland," Considine told RTÉ Sport this week.
"My aim was just to get back on the pitch with Munster. The professional and competitive side of me wanted to keep pushing to get better, and then it's like, 'do you know what? I am good enough to be here, and I’ve hit the targets.'
"I tore my hamstring before the opening round, but the knee itself was fine. The plan was to take it game-by-game, but I’ve exceeded my own expectations. I felt like I wasn’t finished, and the way I had left things didn’t feel like the end."
September 2024: Eimear Considine of Ireland with her baby boy Caolan after the Women's Rugby International match between Ireland and Australia at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast. (Photo By Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile via Getty Images)The unpredictable nature of sports means injuries and luck often play a big role. Considine knows that injuries to Méabh Deely and Natasja Behan, as well as the retirement of Lauren Delany, have come at a fortuitous time for her. She is well aware that her return to the Ireland team is partly down to chance.
"Look, I got a lucky break. Lauren Delany retired, Méabh Deely got injured, Natasja Behan did her ACL—three fullbacks gone, and there was a gap I just walked into. You have to take every opportunity that’s in front of you," she added.
"If they believe I can do a job for the team, I’ll do my best."
Ireland's game against the Black Ferns takes place in the early hours of Monday morning, but the team will also be eager to assess their upcoming opponents, Canada and the USA, in the following weeks.
"All of our focus at the moment is on playing against the Black Ferns. All eyes are on them and how they’ve been performing. Canada will have a few of their Sevens players back; they’re always around the top four on the world stage.
"We’ve played the USA before and had a really good success rate. Those are two games we’re really gunning for."
Ireland play the Black Ferns at 3am Monday
Ireland fixtures
Sun 29 Oct 2024
New Zealand Women vs Ireland Women
03:00 BST
BC Place
Sat, 5 Oct 2024
Canada Women vs Ireland Women
23:45 BST
Langley Events Centre
Fri 11 Oct 2024
USA Women vs Ireland Women
Date: TBC
20:30 BST
BC Place
