Best player accolade for magic Mulhall
Lucy still striving for more
SHE may have been deemed the Women’s Sevens Player of the Year and she may have just guided Ireland to their best ever World Series finish at the Canada 7’s but Lucy Mulhall is striving for more.
The Tinahely Tornado was crowned top of her class on Wednesday last at the Irish Rugby Players Awards - other notable winners on the night were Keith Earls, Jacob Stockdale and CJ Stander.
Mulhall, 24, is now trying to combine her study for Trinity College exams with her relentless desire for improvement.
The Ireland 7’s team is currently riding a very good wave and they have many more opportunities on the horizon to establish themselves at the top table of world rugby.
“Our season isn’t fully over yet so I haven’t thought about it much as a whole but I have enjoyed challenging myself and trying to become a better rugby player. I still have a long way to go though and have plenty to work on for the end of the season. It’s a game that you can never stop learning for!
“I’ve been proud of our effort and work this year, we have pulled off some great performances and some ‘firsts’ this season which has been great! We have a nice mix of new players and experience in the squad so I’m really excited for the rest of the season for us!
“We have the final leg of the world series in two weeks, Euro- pean Championships and a world cup in San Fran in July to come so next year hasn’t crossed my mind yet. I’m so excited for the end of this season and on building on some good results from our last leg in Canada. We are starting to really compete with the top teams so with more consistency I think we will see good results!”
And while Mulhall is jet-setting to San Francisco and Australia and other bucket-list destinations, does she ever find herself pining for the Courthouse, or a view of the River Derry?
“(laughs) I’m a home bird at heart so when we travel I do miss home but we are rarely away more than two weeks and when we are away we have so much fun as a team and I love being in that team environment around tournament time. It’s so busy and intense and I love it but once the games are over we are all always ready to get home to our families.”
Speaking of families, a certain Emily Mulhall has muscled in on Lucy’s sporting fame recently with her escapades for the Wicklow Ladies GAA team but a beaming Lucy watched on from a different continent as Emily and co. clinched the Division 4 title.
“They were amazing, we had arrived in Canada when the girls played and it was 6am our time in Canada so thanks to the TG4 app I was able to watch it from my hotel room. They were so dominant in their performance and I was just so proud of them because I know how hard they work and how much they wanted it. I was extra proud of my older sister of course, she was brilliant! I think they are on a steep incline and with the level of players they have are only going to continue to get better.”