With the Six Nations tournament finally here, Robyn O’Connor is ready and raring to go, and it helps that she’s surrounded by rugby 24/7.
The Wexford star has been named among the Ireland squad and tells EVOKE that training with the team, who are like a ‘bunch of sisters’, is as much craic as we’d imagine.
Once training is over, the fun doesn’t stop as Robyn, who is studying for a Business Management degree, lives with several of her teammates, although she says they’re not a party house.
Leinster players Robyn O’Connor, right, and Jade Gaffney. Pic: Sportsfile
‘College takes up a good part of my time outside of rugby because rugby is the majority of my time. I come home and I just cook dinner and do college,’ Robyn said about her day-to-day.
She continued: ’My housemates are rugby players as well, and two [Sadhbh McGrath and Enya Breen] are in camp as well, which is really handy, then a few of the girls are rehabbing, so we might go to a sauna and ice bath or something like that.
Robyn loves living with her teammates as it means they understand what’s needed to be at the top of their game.
Ireland’s Robyn O’Connor playing Sevens in Hong Kong. Pic: INPHO/Joe Hamby
She said: ‘It’s nice because everyone’s on the same schedule. I talked to a few girls in college and they’re like, “Oh, it must be so nice like living in your own house with all your friends”, they think we throw parties all the time, but I’m always like, “wrong house, you’ve got the wrong people!”.’
Managing rugby and college can be quite the balancing act, but Robyn says so far it’s been okay and that her college is great at helping her do both.
She’s also well used to working around training and games, having fallen in love with the sport as a child who grew up in a rugby-loving household.
Robyn said: ‘When I was growing up, it was mostly Gaelic football and camogie, but I didn’t actually play that many sports, but I really took it up when I was 10 or so and in under-14s teams.
Robyn O’Connor of Leinster prepares in the dressing room. Pic: Sportsfile
‘I took up rugby because my brother would have played in the club Wexford Wanderers, and my dad was the coach. They were always like “give it a go” and eventually I did, but there was no underage team for girls in my club.
‘We had to come together and form a team, there were only 10 or so of us at the start, so I took rugby up in under 14 and then just never looked back and fell in love.’
Robyn credits her dad with giving her the rugby bug, saying he ‘sleeps and breathes rugby’ and would have it on the TV all the time.
‘It’s like a second home down at the rugby club,’ Robyn said. ‘He would watch women’s rugby, men’s rugby, anything to do with rugby.
Heading into the Six Nations, Robyn will be putting the experience she gained playing Sevens for Ireland in Dubai and Cape Town to good use.
Hannah Clarke, Clare Gorman, and Robyn O’Connor. in South Africa Pic: Hannah Clarke / Instagram
She said: ‘A good part of last year, I played 7s rugby, because a lot of the girls who would have primarily been 7s to begin with were transitioned to 15s to prepare for the World Cup.
‘I feel like we were a very young team, and we were kind of thrown into the deep end, so when we lost a good few games in a row, it was tough.’
That said, Robyn learned important lessons, and she’s facing the Six Nations with great learnings behind her.
‘One [learning] I guess would be to keep showing up, it will be tough at times, but you just have to try to look at the brighter side and remember why you’re doing it,’ she said.