Leinster Rugby

December 15, 2022 3:15 pm Lisa Doyle

‘Across The Laighin’ is the magazine published exclusively for Season Ticket holders.

The seventh edition – and first of the 2022/23 season – went live a few weeks ago and over the next few weeks we will be giving Leinster Rugby supporters access to excerpts from some of the interviews and feature pieces.

The first such piece is with rising Leinster Rugby and Ireland star, Aoife Wafer, who sat down to chat with Lisa Doyle.

Alexa: show me the perfect From The Ground Up story?

Let’s take a six-year-old, a girl at that and the only girl playing with the boys in Gorey RFC.

Let’s roll forward a few years to representing the South-East Area in what we now know as the Bank of Ireland Sarah Robinson Cup.

To then, as a 15-year-old, pulling on the blue jersey of Leinster Rugby and to continuing on up the ranks to, finally, wearing the green jersey of Ireland as a 19-year-old.

Aoife Wafer is the complete From The Ground Up story.

“I come from a sport’s mad family. We all got into rugby.

“My mam and dad were very good and if we suggested a sport, they just let us play. They just wanted to see us doing something. So, when Sean and Michael, my older two brothers, started playing rugby, we all got very involved. Mam would always be helping out in the club in Gorey, she was on the first ever women’s team for Gorey too and played for years.

“My dad was the mini’s coordinator for a long time, and then he became the chairperson in Gorey. He’s on committees in the Leinster branch and the IRFU Branch. I would definitely call it a real rugby household.”

When Aoife started playing rugby over thirteen years ago with Gorey RFC, she was the only girl on the team, but she never let that bother her.

She just wanted to play.

“I grew up playing every sport with the boys.

“I would’ve started with hurling and Gaelic football. And then, when my older brothers were brought down to play rugby in Gorey, myself and my two younger siblings were dragged along with them on cold Sunday mornings.

“So, we were always stuck in the clubhouse and watching the others play on the pitch. It wasn’t a real common thing back then to have girls playing rugby, as no other girls were playing minis level at that time.

“I remember I used to annoy my mam week in and week out to just get out on the field and run around because I was freezing. And so, one week, six year old me turned around to her and went, ‘wouldn’t I be better off playing than stuck standing here on the sideline being cold?’

“She couldn’t argue with that and let me out to play rugby with the boys the following week.

“I was the only girl playing with the U-6s.

“At that time the only other girl I would have known in the club, who would’ve grown up playing with the boys was Lauren Farrell-McCabe and when I started playing minis, she was training with the women.

“She was actually playing with Leinster U-18s I think when I started. She’d be a fair bit older than me, but she made it very clear to me that it wasn’t completely odd for a girl to play rugby.

“To some people I suppose it was still unusual to see a girl run around with the boys.

“After the first couple weeks, when the boys got used to it, it was grand.”

What about the first few weeks?

“They wouldn’t pass the ball or they’d kind of take it a bit easy on you.

“But once you score a few tries, everyone gets a bit more competitive and you’re not a girl anymore, you’re just another player that they’re trying to stop.”

Aoife played the whole way up through minis level rugby with the same group in Gorey, from the age of six to 12 and reflects back on a time when some might have seen being the only girl on the team as a weakness and explains how she thrived on it.

“It’s gas thinking back to when I played with the boys because you come up against other teams and some of the coaches were shouting ‘oh, there’s a girl there on the wing, just run at her.’

“I can remember our coaches always kind of laughing at them and saying, ‘Go ahead, run at her because you won’t get past her’.

“I even remember, one day I turned to my mam, who was always very supportive and the same with my dad, and I asked for a scrum cap because it would hide my hair, as I had really long, blonde hair. I thought that it would stop all of that and I’d be treated the same, I’d get equal rugby rather than being pinned out for being a girl.”

Minis rugby goes from U-6s to U-12s and then it moves to youths’ rugby from the age of thirteen.

Aoife then had to make a decision who she would play with, as the next level up was either to continue to play with the boys or join the girls U-15 team in the club.

“When I turned 12, it was an odd stage because there was only an U-15s girls’ team in Gorey. So, it was either playing with the boys for U-13s or playing with the girls for U-15s.

“But either way, we had to get permission from the Leinster Branch, and I ended up playing with the girls. I was a 12 year old playing against 15 year olds, which was a big step. But it definitely made me a better player and a bit more confident in myself as well because, obviously I was a lot smaller than them, and I was playing against my older brothers’ friends. So, it was odd, but it was a really good opportunity. To just get better at the game and to learn from them. I could take a lot from them.”

Like so many stories, sometimes all it takes is a good coach with a great attitude to nurture that acorn into the mighty oak that is to follow.

“As I said, I was the smallest on the team. So, I think growing up playing with the boys made me the player I am today.

“I owe a lot to the two main coaches that I had when I was playing minis. That’s Robert Tubritt and Nigel Stevens.

“They were like ‘good cop – bad cop’. Nigel would try to get everything out of you, he’d give you honest feedback and be straight to the point, even when you didn’t really want to hear it. He was definitely the bad cop between the two of them when I was growing up.

“Robert, on the other hand, would always give me a lot of praise; he gave me a lot of confidence in my abilities. To this day, they’re still in contact to see how I’m getting on, and how training is going. They’d be the first to congratulate me after I accomplish something. The two of them definitely influenced me a lot as a person and a rugby player.

“I stayed playing U-15s for three years, and at that stage, Gorey had no girls team for U-16s. So, we looked around at other clubs who had a team for my age group and Enniscorthy were the closest. Mam was delighted with her being an Enniscorthy woman.

“I moved to Enniscorthy RFC and I think that was the next step that I just needed to take as a player. They were playing a division or two higher than what Gorey were playing at the time.

“Now I was getting to play premier division rugby, with completely new girls in a new environment, it pushed me out of my comfort zone, and it just drove me to be a better player.

“I was playing U-16 for one year at Enniscorthy. Then I moved to U-18s, and we won the Leinster U-18 premier league. That was big for the club because, the girl’s section was relatively new at the time, they were still growing from minis up to under twelves, and then in the youths section too.”

At the age of 15, Aoife’s talent in the game had been spotted by her coaches and they put her forward for trials to represent her area.

This is the area side programme, now known as the Bank of Ireland Sarah Robinson Cup, made up of the five areas of Leinster: Metro, South-East, North-East, Midlands and North Midlands.

“When I was 15, I went for trials for the Southeast Area team. So that was the first time that I had gone to any kind of regional area stuff. Thankfully I made that, it was funny at the time because my older brother was playing with the boys’ Southeast Area, and he was making his way up through the ranks in the Leinster clubs’ system. That was amazing, with the family being well represented.

“Then the following year I made it again, and I made it again for a third year. But thankfully in my first year, I had a relatively good season, and I was lucky enough to get picked for the Leinster U-18s squad.

“I was fifteen the first time I got to wear the Leinster jersey. It was definitely a big event.”

Pulling on the Leinster jersey was like most youngsters growing up, a dream and for it to become a reality is still special to this day.

However, Aoife is quick to also outline that the jersey on her back represents so much more than her own efforts alone.

“It was mad because growing up, it would’ve been an absolute dream to pull on the blue or green jersey.

“I can remember sitting in the car with my siblings and we’d have competitions on who can name the most international or provincial players, but I’d only name female players.

“So, I knew everybody on the panel. I can remember even, I think it was my 13th birthday, I got a jersey from Philip Doyle, and it was signed by the whole Irish women’s team. It was one of the AON jerseys that you couldn’t buy at the time. I framed it and hung it up over my bed, it’s still there to this day.

“Even those types of memories are mad. Pulling on that blue jersey for the first time was years of work and it represented a lot of people that had put time into me and let me do my thing on the field and not try to change anything that I was doing.

“I remember scoring my first try for the Leinster U-18, it was against Connacht, in our first game. It was an amazing feeling, getting across that line, especially in the Leinster jersey.”

It’s not an easy task to make it on to a Leinster Rugby squad.

What sets her, or indeed any other player, apart from the rest does she think?

“It was just the little things I suppose that set me apart from somebody else. I put a lot of work into my game and if I didn’t get picked, I wanted to know why, even when I didn’t want to hear it, so that I could improve what needed improving.

“I always ask my coaches, after training sessions and matches, what I needed to do to be the best. I’m constantly looking to improve and to be better.

“I remember in my first year that I was playing for Leinster, and I was training so hard, but I didn’t get picked the first week for the interprovincials, so I asked my coaches for some feedback. I worked on what needed improving, and I made it the following week.

“Sometimes, not getting something, you want works out to be the best thing to happen if you react in the right way, it might be what sets you apart from other people. It’s what you learn when you don’t get the things you want that make you a better player and a stronger person.”

Aoife went on to captain the Leinster team and to lift the first ever trophy for the girl’s side.

“I was the captain for the first ever winning Leinster U-18s girls’ team. We were unlucky not to win it the year before. We just fell short against Munster. But the following year, we won it, and it was incredible.

“It was three years of work that we had put in. It was great to finally just get the pay off and it was just a really memorable moment because you have your whole family there. You have people from your home club, your teammates, your coaches, everybody that has put in the work to get to that moment of lifting the cup.”

Aoife’s mother, Sam Wafer, was a big part of that U-18 team, as she held the manager’s role.In that role she had a responsibility for all the players, but her impact on her daughter’s pathway is clear for all to see.

“She wouldn’t have been as involved during my minis because she had five kids, so she had to kind of try and spread herself out.

“That all changed when I got to youths. There weren’t really many coaches because girls teams seemed to struggle a bit with the coaching side back then. She volunteered and she got her coaching courses done.

“She plays a big part with my teams and plays a big role as the manager for the Leinster U-18 girl’s squad. I don’t think I would have got to where I have without her or my dad. Even just having her play the game, she was 50 something when she retired.

“She wasn’t as young as she would have liked when she started playing, but it was great to have that camaraderie of playing and talking through the games after we had both been out playing that weekend.

“Having that kind of person who can show you that you can just do anything. If you want to play, just keep playing. She has a big role in everything I do at the minute.”

How does she feel now to be that girl, that player, that the next generation are looking up to and what is the process for them to get to where she is now?

How does it all work?

“You start with your club and if your club coaches or the CROs (Community Rugby Officers) see that you have potential, they’ll put you forward to an area screening.

“You have the five areas and if you perform in the screenings, you’ll get selected for your area side.

“Last year also saw the start of the Sarah Robinson Cup. I would have known and played with Sarah for years in Gorey and that is a beautiful tribute to Sarah. It is fantastic to see and it now rivals the boys Shane Horgan Cup Competition, and the quality of players is amazing.

“Then, you’ll be selected for Leinster if the coaches see potential or see that you could be the next person to put on that blue or green jersey.

“It’s a big kind of process, but I suppose you just have to keep trucking through it and just keep performing, showing what you can do and prove your place on the team.”

Once Aoife reached the age of 18, she was too old to play underage rugby.

By that stage, she had already been called up to join the Leinster senior women’s squad but it was now time to bring her game to another level again.

First at club level and then on an international stage.

“When I was too old for the U-18s, I got called up for training with the senior squad, but even before that, I was just trying to figure out where I was going to go to college.

“So that would’ve dictated a lot, like what club I could have played with, or where in Ireland I would have been based.

“I knew I wanted to play at the highest level in Ireland as I knew I wanted to wear the blue and green jersey someday.

“And for women’s rugby in Ireland, the highest division is the AIL. So, I went for a training session in Blackrock, and I just got great vibes from everyone. I absolutely loved the club, loved the people, loved the environment, loved the intensity that they trained at.

“I knew instantly that was where I wanted to be, where my next home club was. And I knew I’d be surrounded by the best players and coaches who could help me achieve my goals and dreams.

“I played some AIL games with them but before I’d even done my Leaving Cert, I had a call from Anthony Eddy saying that I was going to join the senior Irish sevens, which was crazy, as I was only 18 at the time. I was fairly young when I got this call.

“From there, I got called into the Irish 15s squad for the 2022 TikTok 6 Nations. I celebrated my 19th birthday the day before we played against the Welsh in the RDS. I was the baby of the squad.”

Playing on both the Irish 7s and 15s squads, as well as the Leinster training squad, might seem like a lot to some people, Aoife explains how she managed them all.

“The 7s train four times a week. So, you train for four days, and you have a pitch and a gym session every day, as well as different meetings throughout the day.

“As soon as I finished my Leaving Cert, I was straight into 7s training. So having that exposure early in my career has given me a skillset to be a better athlete, rugby player and a person.

“Going in and seeing the likes of Stacey Flood, Amee Leigh Murphy Crowe, Lucy Mulhall, Eve Higgins and all these outstanding people was so nerve-racking for me. They were all people that I was aspiring to be like, that I’d grown up watching play for Ireland and that I’d ask for signatures and photos after a game as a big fan.

“You’re sitting beside them in the changing room, and just thinking ‘oh my god, this is actually unreal.’ It’s kind of a pinch yourself moment, because for me, like I said, I was one of the biggest fans and then I was just sitting beside them in the same dressing room. It was all just a dream come true.

“Then to actually be training with them was just insane because, you didn’t want to drop the ball, or you didn’t want to miss a tackle because you wanted to prove yourself and prove that you are worth your spot there. So having that 7s exposure was really good for me as I’d only ever played U-18s, so that was the first senior training I’d been involved with.

“It made me stronger, fitter and faster. It brought me up to scratch as a senior player. It gave me the physical and mental development that I needed as a young player. I’m still at both the 7s and 15s at the minute. But having those systems there, and a world class coaching staff behind me, I think has definitely made me a better player.”

Not only does she have a very busy training schedule, but Aoife is also in college studying to be a physiotherapist.

No rest for the wicked.

“I’m studying physiotherapy and I’m in my second year, so thankfully I got through the first year. I train Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and up in Blanchardstown at the HPC.

“Wednesday is what I call a college day because it’s the only day I go to college for a full day. It’s tough. But I suppose it’s something I’ve always wanted, and I’ve always been the type of person to just chase what I want.

“UCD are very good with elite sports personnel. I’m an Ad Astra Elite Sports Scholar so the support from the college and the faculty staff is brilliant. They’re very understanding in the way that you are a student athlete and help you in finding that balance.

“It’s a holistic approach. They want to see you do well, in both sports and academia. I just have to be really clear and open with my lecturers and we try to work out a schedule that we can both work with.

“The practicals are generally on Wednesdays. So, the compulsory classes are on a Wednesday, I’m able to make them all then. But every other day, there are lectures running too. I get the slides and lecture notes and I just have to make sure and cover them in my own time and go back over them.

“It’s tough coming home from a long day of training, and then to sit down and catch up on lectures, when all my college friends are out having a laugh and socialising.”

That is the trade-off for any young athlete and Aoife understands that.

She can’t have her cake and eat it but she does appreciate the importance of a work / life balance and finding that middle ground as best she can.

She is only 19 after all.

“Yeah, I think any person in life needs to have a good, work / life balance.

“It’s just getting that balance right. Between rugby, college and then actually having a life. Everyone needs that outlet as well. Mine would be music, as I play the uilleann pipes, tin-whistle, traditional flute and the classical flute.

“There are times where I come home from training and I just go, right, I’m going to leave that work or lecture for another day, I’m going to go out and have a bit of craic with my friends.

“Because if you only have a head in a book, and if you’re just out on the field all day, you are just going to burn out. You need that switch off time to keep your head in the right place and to have a good work-life balance.”

As the motto says in Leinster Rugby, From The Ground Up.

This is Aoife’s story.

From her club in Gorey, up through the ranks of the area sides and on to Leinster underage interprovincial teams, right up to the senior squad.

This is the new generation of girls and womens players.

Benefitting from the work on the ground of people like Jennie Bagnall who saw the future for the womens game and the growth and the development that could be made.

Now we are seeing the result.

Players coming through the pathway right the way from minis to junior and then senior club rugby, interprovincial rugby and international rugby.

Aoife, and her peers, are now the poster girls for that generation.

“I think it definitely has benefited me massively.

“It’s given me a lot more years under my belt where I’ve a lot more knowledge and understanding, I’d say compared to some of the women that are playing, it gives you a lot more experience in different situations.

“Take for example, I was talking to Eimear Considine, the Ireland 7s and 15s international, and she started playing in college and it actually worked out that I’d been playing more years of rugby than she had.

“Having those years behind you, develops a lot of your core skills that other people might not have. Take catch-pass, when you’re doing it from minis and you always have a ball in your hand, it’s something that you’re going to have a little bit of an edge on over someone else.

“Or even tackling, if you look at somebody who started in college, if you break it down, their tackle technique might not be as good as someone who’s come up from minis. And because in minis, it’s really important that you teach a child how to tackle properly and safely.

“The minis get so much practice at all the core skills. I think all the little technical stuff, the fundamental skills, would really be something that I’ve gained just coming up through the ranks. It’s just ingrained in you, so it’s not something that you have to think about.”

So much of what she learned as a young player, stands to her today, while another habit has also stayed the course.

Whereas once it was to hide her flowing locks from boys who might judge her, now it’s become a calling card for the Wexford native.

“I’ve worn it so long, I’m at the point where I actually feel like I play better when I wear my scrum cap. I don’t know how to describe it.

“I just wear it, it’s just a habit now.

“Even when I travel abroad with rugby to hot countries like France and Dubai, I’ll still wear it even though I can barely stand the heat. It’s nearly like a trademark at this stage too.

“People that I’ve played against when I was younger and right up until now, from all over the country, have come up to me and said, ‘you’re the girl that wears the red scrum cap’. It’s mad how someone will remember that kind of detail.”

After achieving so much on the pitch at such a young age, there is definitely a lot more to come from Aoife, but is there any memory that stands out in her rugby journey so far?

“I think my most memorable moment was definitely my first cap for Ireland, because I was so nervous. It’s the most nervous I’ve ever been.

“After the captain’s run on the Friday in Musgrave Park before the game against Italy, I can remember going for a walk with Dorothy Wall because I was just so nervous.

“She just really calmed me down; I think she understood what it was like to be in that situation as a youngster. The whole team was so supportive, they just believed in my abilities and backed me even though I was just the new kid on the team.

“But it’s the most nervous I’ve ever felt, and I probably ever will feel because it’s just, I don’t know, but I suppose you build it up so much when you’re growing up.

“I’ve been playing since I was six. For so many years you picture it and for that to finally come around and then you’re just standing there singing the national anthem beside your childhood heroes.

“You’re just standing there soaking it all up, nearly pinching yourself.”

The girls and women’s game of rugby has grown so much over the last few years, there are now more girls than ever playing the game.

If she was to chat to the six-year-old Aoife, or to any young boy or girl starting out, what advice would she give?

“It’s a good question. I’d say just have fun. You play your best when you’re having fun.

“And I think what’s kind of given me a bit of an edge, is just playing so many sports. If it eventually comes to it and you have to pick a sport to choose, pick the one you enjoy the most.

“It’s getting those little skills from other sports and transferring them over is what might set you apart from someone else in the future. And always remember, there is always room for improvement, no matter what level you play at.”

What strikes you talking to Aoife, is the maturity.

Not only in word, but also in deed.

“I think it’s important to give back to rugby. I’ve always been the type of person to see what I can give back to something that I’ve taken so much from.

“Rugby has obviously significantly impacted my life, because of that, I think it’s important to give back.

“So, at the minute, for example, I go down to coach the Blackrock minis and I volunteered to help coach the Metro U-18 girls’ team also.

“For me, it’s important to just build that love of the game. For the minis, it’s important to just let them fall in love with the game.

“I think for both the youths and the kids, it’s important to see that us Irish players or Leinster players can still give back and still come down and help them become better players.”

If it was an experienced player with years of experience behind her saying those words you would expect it or certainly hope for it.

But this is a 19-year-old student in the early stages of her journey as a senior player.

She is also making tracks at a very exciting time for the women’s game in Ireland right now, with some members of the Irish women’s 7s and 15s squad recently awarded contracts.

Aoife was one of them.

“It’s brilliant. Women’s rugby is the fastest growing sport in Ireland.

“So having these type of set ups is something for the girls at the minis or youth levels to really aspire to.

“For young girls to be able to say that they want to work as a professional rugby player when they grow up is phenomenal. It’s great to see growth in the likes of the area competitions, the Sarah Robinson Cup run by Leinster.

“The women’s interpros, being televised on TG4, Vodafone as a sponsor, now a Celtic Cup competition with Wales and Scotland clubs and there was also a huge ‘Can’t See, Can’t Be’, campaign that was run over the last few years.

“I know TikTok have done huge things for women’s rugby in terms of really putting it out there on different platforms and making it visual to everybody. This year’s Women’s 6 Nations saw a 69% increase in live match attendance, and a 64% increase in TV viewing figures!

“That’s class. Look at the World Cup. This year’s Women’s Rugby World cup in New Zealand also saw a total attendance of more than 140,000 fans at the games compared to 2017 where there were just over 45,000, I think. And to see the scenes at the final whistle with the Black Ferns winning in front of a home crowd.

“So, seeing the game grow in that kind of sense is really amazing. If I was a younger player at the minute, I’d be very excited right now because there’s things that are coming their way and it’s just going to be really good to see what the future holds.”

Aoife has achieved so much in her rugby career, to date.

But you also get the sense that she is just getting started.

She won’t forget her roots either nor the fact that she too was one of those kids once.

Wanting the selfie. Wanting the autograph. In awe of their heroes.

Only now, in Blackrock, in Gorey, in Enniscorthy, and way beyond, it’s Aoife Wafer’s time and attention they are after.

“Yeah, it’s kind of crazy.

“Having people ask you for photos or autographs still feels bizarre to me, because it was only about a year ago when I was sitting up in the stands watching the games, cheering on the women as a fan.

“It’s obviously great to see so many girls playing now.

“I was the only girl on my team, and I was the only girl for years in the minis, until my sister started playing. So, there were only really two of us for the whole age group for minis.

“Now that the minis and youth sections have grown so much is just fantastic because it is from the ground up, and those girls that are playing at minis right now are going to be the ones that are wearing the blue or green jerseys in the future.”

Wearing the blue, wearing the green, and with a role model in a red scrum cap as an inspiration.

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