HOGAN STANDS UP
Dynamic back-row leads by example
IT was all about taking the positives from Ireland’s opening-round defeat by France in Le Mans last weekend. The result — a fairly resounding 38-17 reversal at a packed Stade Marie-Marvingt — was no surprise. The French are one of the top women’s teams in the world, while this Irish squad is in the midst of yet another rebuild.
But it was the manner of the loss which was so encouraging.
For the first time in a long time, the national team looked like they could mix it with a global heavyweight.
The hosts had to work for it as the fired-up visitors made 175 tackles in a losing cause. And Brittany Hogan was responsible for a fair share of that staggering final tally.
The Ireland No8 was simply superb. It was only her 19th international appearance in the XVs game, but she is a natural. A natural leader as well.
The Down-born back-rower is still only 25 but she commands respect across this playing squad. Hogan leads by example on the pitch. Last Saturday, she faced down an imposing France backrow unit featuring Charlotte Escudero, Gaelle Hermet and Romane Ménager, one of the best forwards on the planet.
Hogan didn’t take a backwards step all afternoon. She was arguably Ireland’s best player, delivering an all-action display.
Her time on the Sevens circuit has given her exceptional stamina. Add in a natural competitive streak which saw her compete in virtually every sport in high school, from hockey to netball, and you get a relentless back-row forward.
On Sunday, Ireland face Italy at the RDS and there is growing optimism that Scott Bemand’s squad can kick on from their gutsy, industrious and promising performance on French soil with a galvanising victory in the capital.
This week, the Italian management will be devising tactics to keep Ireland’s talismanic No8 quiet. These are exciting times for Ireland and Hogan is set be a central figure in this resurgence.
Her rise through the ranks was no surprise to early mentors back in her native county. Born in the small village of Killinchy, Hogan was a sports-mad youngster. Did we mention she played Gaelic football for Downpatrick RGU, Carryduff and Down during her formative years as well?
She first caught the rugby bug at Down High School. Her alma mater only had a tag rugby programme and Hogan was keen to try the real thing. Her friend, Hannah Beattie, another future Ulster player, suggested she take a trip down to Ballynahinch RFC after school and do some training with the girls Under 16 team.
A young Hogan was hooked, and she never looked back. Quick, explosive and physical, she was swiftly scouted and fast-tracked through the Ulster underage ranks. Claire Molloy and Ciara Griffin were early inspirations. Hogan would soon find herself packing down alongside those two iconic Irish backrow forwards.
A versatile player, who has featured at centre and lock for her native province, Hogan eventually found her groove in the back-row. She was made for the Sevens circuit and thrived in the abbreviated game after she was drafted into the programme in August 2017.
Indeed, she was part of the squad which made history in Seville in 2022 when the Ireland Sevens secured a historic silver medal in the World Series.
She made her XVs debut from the bench in a Six Nations win over Italy in 2020, making her first Test start the following season against the same opposition at Energia Park.
Hogan has shifted between both Sevens and XVs in recent years, experiencing the highs of ground-breaking achievements and Olympic qualification with the former alongside some shuddering lows with the long-suffering national team.
But she is a resilient character and has been through a lot in her life. She’s shown courage on and off the pitch.
In February of last year, she opened up publicly about the sexual abuse she suffered as a young girl and the dark years which followed.
Hogan spoke powerfully about how such a traumatic event shaped her and the years of counselling and therapy she went through. Hogan had recently taken up a role as an ambassador with the ISPCC and she felt it was finally the right time to open up about her own experiences: ‘I kind of had to go and speak to people after I told my mum what had happened,’ she revealed last year.
‘I was about 13 and it had to be dealt with by authorities. So, I had to go to a therapist. I had to go to a counsellor.
‘Not that I was forced to talk, but I learned pretty quickly that if you don’t speak or talk about your worries and understand your emotions, then it’s not going to help and you’re just going to go backwards.
‘I know a lot of people wouldn’t be too open to talk about their feelings, but I think that’s just something we find a little bit of shame in, actually opening up. Because I’ve been doing it for so long, I’m the complete opposite.
‘It took me five years to tell my mum what had happened to me, so I can completely understand, and it is personal preference, but it’s just so important that people have to understand that talking about their emotions, no matter how big or small, it helps everything. A problem shared is a problem halved.’
Sport was something of a saving grace during those teenage years. ‘Sport changed my life and saved my life,’ she said.
‘That discipline of having to do something and put your love into something. I’m competitive, so to get that boost, even going for a walk and the serotonin, it uplifted me and really helped.’
Hogan was taken aback by the outpouring of support from teammates, coaches and friends after she spoke and has become an advocate for mental health.
Hogan is thriving these days. A full-time pro, she graduated with a first-class honours degree in sports science and health from DCU last year.
Recently, she spoke candidly on the differing trajectories of both national teams, as Andy Farrell’s squad are sitting high on the top of the global rankings.
‘We’re hoping to get where they are one day, but we have to be realistic and focus on our plan and where we’re trying to get to right now.’
With players like Hogan on board, this Ireland squad can begin to dream a bit bigger.
“Sport changed my life, and it saved my life”