For Nicola Friday, winning the Irish Rugby Writers’ Association Female Player of the Year award is especially sweet after announcing her retirement from playing for her country in July.
But she doesn’t regret the decision and feels she has given everything she can after spending eight quality years in Ireland.
“When I retire, I think about the next tournament and wonder if I will regret it or think I gave up too soon and could have done more. I was excited for them and really wanted them to do well, but I knew it was the right choice for me and I’m happy with it,” she said.
“I now have career goals that I want to pursue. Same with everything else outside of rugby, weddings and birthdays and all those years where I didn’t take my family seriously. I’m refocusing on those things. There will come a time when I want to. I’m still in the early stages of my playing career so it might be a bit selfish. But I feel like I’ve given everything I can for Ireland.”
The 28-year-old was a strong leader throughout a difficult final season. The Tullamore native, who was named Ireland captain in 2022, enjoyed success with Exeter Chiefs, who reached the Premier XV final last season. Currently, she is focused on her club career.
“I love it. This year there are different challenges in terms of players with English qualifications and how many overseas players to have in the squad, so there are new factors to consider every week.
“It was good because you have to be in the best shape at the moment to win one of the precious spots. It was tough but also a new challenge and a lot of fun. We are steadily growing toward that goal.”
The last few years have been difficult for Ireland. wWoodenspoon after losing every game in the 2023 campaign.
“It was a tough competition. It’s very easy to say you’re going to ignore everything that’s being said about you in the newspapers and online, but the reality is that we all live in a world where we see everything on our phones every day. I live in. Possible.
“You can never question anyone’s dedication to what we were trying to do and we weren’t intentionally getting results or performing to the level we wanted to reach.
“You can’t fault anyone’s heart or desire to be there and keep fighting, and that was the driving force behind many of us. We’re all in it, we’re in it together, and we can’t give up I had no intention of doing so.”
Despite the disappointment in the Six Nations, Friday was able to look back on many highlights from his Ireland second-row career.
“[My highlight] It was probably one of Ciara Griffin’s last games in the series against America in November and I was very close to Ciara the whole time we played together.For us it was the end of a cycle that brought Italian disappointment [and failing to qualify for the World Cup] But in November we got together again and had something of a final outing with the players who have since retired.
“That core group of players has been together for probably four or five years and we were good friends, so the November series is memorable for me.”
Team of the Year: ireland men’s team
Men’s Sevens Player of the Year: Harry McNulty
Women’s Sevens Player of the Year: lucy mulhall
Club of the Year: cragger valley
Notable contributions from fundraising efforts: Alex Soroka
Irish Hall of Fame rugby writer: Lynn Cantwell and David Humphries
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