British & Irish Lions
• British & Irish Lions tour Australia in 2013
Ireland Rugby
The O’Discroll Factor….
When Brian took on one of his amazing runs that have made him one of the best in the game, we’re fairly sure he never realised he would go on to inspire boys and girls all over the country to start playing the sport!
Aisling Halpin (15), from Howth, says:
“There’s no doubt it was Brian O’Driscoll that inspired me, I remember watching an Ireland game when I was quite young.”
“When I heard the commentator raise his voice in a wave of excitement, I turned to see what was going on. Running down the centre of the pitch, dodging a number of opponents, as they tried their utmost to stop him in his tracks, was a young Brian O’Driscoll. He was a new addition to the Ireland team, an addition that would soon be valued as possibly one of the world’s best centres. I knew nothing about the game but I realised what he had just done was brilliant and required skill and excellence. It wasn’t long before I wanted to do it too.”
That summer, Aisling joined a summer camp at her local rugby club. Aisling soon showed her talent for the game. It turned out she was a natural.
Unfortunately at the age of 13 Aisling found herself with no rugby, as that is the age where she had to stop playing in mixed teams with the boys – so she’s coaching the 8 year olds at her former club.
Aisling says it would be possible to train with a ladies’ team now, but she would have to wait until her 18th birthday to play in a competitive match.
She believes that women’s rugby is on the increase in Ireland, with more girls taking it up every year.