I am delighted to be joined by Irish 7s captain, Lucy Mulhall, on this episode of the podcast.
Lucy and the Irish team are currently preparing for the Rugby World Cup of 7s in Cape Town next month. We chatted about the team's intense preparations for the competition, as well as how important it was for them to qualify in order to put Irish women's rugby 7s on the biggest stage of all.
We spoke about how competition levels have gone up in training, as well as how they have developed such a strong team during the current cycle, competing with the best of the best on the World Rugby Sevens Series circuit this season.
The squad's core values are an integral part of a setup and they come back to them often in order to put themselves in a position to perform at an elite-level standard. We spoke about how they have helped the team to place an emphasis on outstanding defence, develop a robust and resilient mindset and be ok with making mistakes in training.
Finally, we spoke about Lucy's experience playing GAA, how the skills of Gaelic football transferred to the rugby pitch and vice versa.
Lucy has achieved so much in recent years, captaining her country in 7s and representing Ireland in XV's as well, so we finished by speaking about her own personal ambitions and her interest in growing the game of 7s around the country.
We wish Lucy and the Irish team the very best of luck in Cape Town in September and hope that they can achieve their goals of a medal-placed finish.
Time-marks
5:00 - Preparation for the Rugby World Cup 7s
11:30 - Building a strong team
19:00 - Competition in training
21:50 - Mindset & Values
24:20 - Defence as a Strong Point
28:20 - Being prepared for tournaments
33:45 - Increasing standards prior to squad selection
38:40 - Importance in making mistakes in training
47:10 - Teaching and learning from younger players
51:45 - Growing 7s around the country
56:15 - Transferring skills between rugby and GAA
58:40 - Lucy’s personal ambitions
