Life for Lucy Mulhall is hectic. Between her studies and Irish rugby sevens commitments ahead of the World Series in Dubai next week, there is not much time left for anything else. But the captain and out-half would not have it any other way, as she continues to make her mark in the sporting realm alongside her teammates.

“Whenever I do have time off, I love getting home. I go home most weekends, if not every weekend. I just love the countryside and when I get home I try to help Dad out,” beams Lucy, who comes from a sheep and beef farm in Tinahely, Co Wicklow. “I couldn’t live anywhere but in Ireland, I’m a bit of a home bird.”

Opportunity

Coming from a GAA household, Lucy has always lived and breathed Gaelic football, playing for both club and county. The transition to rugby was not part of the original plan – and Lucy admits that she had no knowledge of rugby sevens prior to trialling for the Irish team.

“I was at my house one morning before college. I was looking through my emails and this one came up inviting me to go for a trial. I had never heard of rugby sevens,” explains Lucy. “I talked it over with my family, and I said that it was something that I wanted to do because when an opportunity comes along, to just say no and not even look at it would be very short-sighted of me.”

Lucy has not looked back since those early days and has become a prominent member within the Ireland rugby sevens squad. As well as playing for Ireland, she is also studying science at UCD, meaning there are social sacrifices to be made in order to sustain her sporting status, but Lucy’s previous time in Trinity ensured that she did not miss out on the typical college lifestyle.

“That was my first time away from home. I moved up to Dublin, moved in with girls from college and I joined the football team. I really immersed myself in everything that was going on in the college,” says Lucy.

“I see Trinity as having been my college life, so this time it’s about enjoying the challenges of academics. But at the same time, as soon as I clock out of UCD, I’m gone to rugby – so there’s not that time afterwards where you usually hang out. Some of the girls who I went to college with in Trinity, they can’t believe how different it is. It’s enjoyable too, but it’s just very different.”

Lucy praises UCD for the support it has given her, assisting in whatever way it can so she can manage both her studies and rugby commitments, while making the move from her Gaelic family was eased by her Tinahely teammates.

“What helped me the most was that during my decision to leave to play rugby, they didn’t see it as me leaving Gaelic football but as me taking an opportunity – that’s what made it so much easier. They were just so proud,” smiles Lucy. “If I’m home at the weekend and they’re training or if there is a match on, I’ll go to see the girls. I’ll bring the water on during games just to be part of it,” she says.

Tournaments

The Ireland women sevens team has qualified for the World Cup, taking place in San Francisco next summer and the World Series, which kicks off at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai on 30 November this year. Playing on a world stage is nothing short of incredible and there is much to be accomplished.

“What we can achieve as a squad and for women’s rugby is to build for the future, because sevens is only starting to come on to the scene now. Building that pathway for younger girls is really exciting,” says Lucy.

Big games mean big crowds, with the added feature of immense pressure when it comes to representing your country – an aspect that can take a toll on one’s performance, and Lucy learned her lesson the hard way.

“I’ll never forget when I played in a U-14 All-Ireland. On the bus on the way up, I got myself worked into a bag of nerves, and I literally played the worst game of my life,” confesses Lucy. “After that I was just like: ‘I am not letting that happen again. Why would I let nerves get in the way of just going out and playing in the same way as I would in a practice game at home?’”

Many sporting athletes have pre-match rituals, but for Lucy, as long as she carries a particular possession, that helps to keep her nerves at bay. “I always carry a miraculous medal that my granny gave me, in my sock, and I’ll always say a prayer going out on the field.”

Biggest Influence

“My granny passed away in the last year and she was the biggest influence in my life. I would have always talked to her before going out on the field – and that settled me and got rid of my nerves,” explains Lucy.

“We had such a good bond, and I guess that’s why I loved coming home so much, especially after tournaments. She would be asking loads of questions and wondering what the countries were like. I was her introduction to different countries around the world.”

Lucy’s drive, ambition and well-earned success, has turned her into a sporting idol. So what would her advice be for the younger generations?

“It comes back to my granny, her saying used to be: ‘Earn your bread by the sweat of your brow.’ So anything that you get, you have to work for,” says Lucy.

“You have to put in the effort. Life isn’t always fair, and the hardest part of sport is that you’re not guaranteed anything. But as long as you’re ticking as many boxes as possible, at least it gives you peace of mind that you’ve done all you can.”

Dropout rate

As to the dropout rate of young girls in sport (by the age of 13, one in two girls will have given up sport completely), Lucy believes this draws the curtains on many opportunities, such as travelling, making lifelong friends and having an outlet that provides a sense of escapism from the regular day-to-day life.

“I made my best friends out of sport, I got so many opportunities. Sport, along with other things, gets you out of bed in the morning – it makes you excited.

“I can’t imagine going home from a bad day’s work and not having that outlet,” she says.

“I do get that sport is not for everyone, but I think that everyone should have something that they are passionate about, which drives them to be better and gets them out there to meet people,” says Lucy.

“It’s very hard to be the best at sport and then go to college and be very content with not being your best. You get so used to wanting to push yourself and wanting to be your best that when you go to college, that competitiveness will come again,” she tells us.

Benefits of sport

Lucy cherishes the benefits sport provides, as it has a knack of developing us from a young age.

By engaging in physical activity, we learn that we can achieve anything we set our minds to, that hard work prevails above all else and – on an equal playing field – nothing else matters but the desire to win.

“Sport has a habit of stripping you down to the core characteristics that really matter,” she says.

“It is a great leveller, no matter what your background is. You go out on a field, and if the girl beside you wants the ball more, she is going to get the ball.” CL

Factfile

Age: 24

Height: 5ft 1in

Club: Rathdrum RFC, Wicklow

Position: Out-half

Studying: Science at UCD

GAA: Lucy won an All-Ireland junior football title with Wicklow in 2011.

Her father is involved in her local club, Tinahely, and her sister still plays there.

Rugby: Lucy got her first real taste of rugby sevens when she went on a development trip to Amsterdam with the Ireland team. Rugby has been her ticket to travel, with Sydney and Canada being her favorite places. She captained Ireland’s women’s sevens at the Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. Lucy has 18 Ireland caps. She’s won three Women’s Sevens World Series Bowls across the last two seasons and is the Ireland’s top points scorer in sevens rugby, through a combination of tries and kicks.

Idol: Katie Taylor is her sporting idol.

Women’s sport: She has witnessed first-hand that the interest is growing, and a lot more people are supporting the women’s games and putting money into giving women the same opportunities as men. Lucy feels that the gap between interests is only going to get narrower.