Alisa determined to fight back from World Cup heartache

WHEN Alisa Hughes was overlooked for Ireland’s World Cup squad last year, she knew it was time to go back to the drawing board.

In her own words, she was in peak condition, yet former head coach Tom Tierney, who lost his job following the disastrous campaign on home soil, decided to look elsewhere.

Nicole Cronin finished the World Cup as Ireland’s first choice scrum-half after a couple of impressive displays but since taking over from Tierney, Adam Griggs has favoured Hughes.

The Tullamore native gets the nod from the start in tomorrow’s clash against USA at Donnybrook (1.0) and, having overcome the initial heartache at missing out on the World Cup, Hughes is more determined than everto take every opportunity that is presented to her. “I played a couple of matches in that 2017 Six Nations, then I didn’t make the World Cup squad so I had to put on my fighting boots and come back again,” Hughes explained. “I made it back into the squad then for the 2018 Six Nations and have been very much involved since.

“First off, when you don’t make a World Cup squad, there’s a huge amount of disappointment that you have to try and mentally prepare yourself.

“(I was) Absolutely gutted. I probably was my fittest and my strongest at that stage. I suppose at the time my rugby probably wasn’t up to scratch.

“That’s why I had to go away and actually focus on what type of rugby player I wanted to be and how I wanted to play as a nine. Tried to focus on what I was good at and what I needed to improve.”

Hughes comes from a camogie background. Growing up, she always dreamed of playing at Croke Park so when she ticked that off the list and rugby came calling, she switched her focus.

“That’s what I grew up dreaming of. To be able to turn around and do the same then with rugby is unreal.” Fighting back: Ireland scrumhalf Alisa Hughes