Ireland captain Nichola Fryday set to star in professional era – The Irish Times

American novelist James Lane Allen once wrote that ‘adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it’, an observation that Ireland Women’s captain Nichola Fryday could concur with based on her experiences in rugby .

She brokered a trip from Tullamore RFC to national team captain through the most turbulent period in Irish women’s rugby, on and off the pitch. Fryday’s quality as a person and a player makes her a key figure in the regeneration of Irish women’s rugby under new head coach Greg McWilliams.

He handed the 27-year-old Kilcormac native the captaincy ahead of last season’s Six Nations Championship and Fryday will lead the team in a two-Test series in Japan next month. The matches represent another milestone in terms of progression and it won’t be the last in the near future.

IRFU will offer professional contracts to more than 40 players at 15 – for the first time – and at VII. There will be different reward bands. A senior Sevens contract is worth €18,000 per year, the high for new contracts should be €30,000.

The principle is to try to ensure a more level playing field with their rivals from the Six Nations, who have already obtained financial support to structure a professional career.

There are further developments which should take place if the Union is to create a national framework which will foster and support women’s rugby in Ireland, an evolutionary process which will make the sport, 15 and 7, attractive to young girls in greater numbers. .

Fryday’s introduction to rugby was fortuitous. Growing up on a dairy farm, she was one of four daughters born to Richard and Rose, alongside older sisters Rebecca and Emma and younger sister Jessica. There was room for a pony, so Nichola’s first love was riding.

At Kilkenny College, she embraced hockey and played at representative level at under-16 and under-18 level. She enjoyed a brief flirtation with rugby as part of the transition year, playing fortnightly. She went to UCD to study agricultural science, food and agribusiness management, where she took a break from hockey and instead enjoyed the social delights of college as a freshman. .

Going into second year, his mum suggested he go down the road to Tullamore RFC. Nicholas loved it. The team progressed in a short time from Division 2 of the Leinster League to the All-Ireland League, from which they were relegated after one season. There were difficult experiences.

Fryday recalled, “I remember playing Railway and we lost something like 104-0. We were mortified. We weren’t bad rugby players, but we came up against very good players. I felt for the likes of Wicklow [this season]. The same thing happened for us. Getting a second year is important as they have a chance to acclimatize and progress.

She shares a notable milestone with former Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll as players who won an Irish cap before playing provincial rugby. Fryday’s test match arc was against Canada in 2016. She had been playing rugby for around two years when Tullamore coaches sent her on a trial with Connacht.

Fryday explained: “I was training with Connacht over the summer but the interpros weren’t until December. [The then Ireland head coach] Tom Tierney used to attend some of the sessions. Tom asked if I would come to one of the camps before the November series.

“I didn’t really know anyone. It was an intimidating experience. Everyone was kind and welcoming. I ended up getting my first cap against Canada and the following week I played against the Black Ferns [New Zealand], both in UCD. I then went back and got my first Connacht cap in Tuam.

A lasting memory from her Test debut was tackling, a lot – she is technically excellent – ​​and the following week she came off the bench against New Zealand. “Standing in front of the Haka was potentially a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I was very young at the time.

“I had done a bit of gym, about half of what I would do now in comparison. I remember being passed the ball to me and a girl who looked like three times as much as I completely crushed me. I couldn’t do anything. It was amazing to play against them.”

Fryday played under three Irish head coaches – Tierney, Adam Giggs and McWilliams – enduring his fair share of disappointment along the way; not being selected for the 2017 World Cup at Belfield and Ireland’s failure to qualify for the latest incarnation of the global tournament later in the year.

“With Tom, I just put my head down and tried to do the best I could in each session. As you gain experience, you start learning to ask questions, to fill you in on things. When Adam came in, that was when I had more of a coach-player relationship talking to him about games. Adam was very encouraging. He was driving on that side.

“With Greg, I am a senior player. He is a very positive voice for us as a team, after a depression [point]. He was very encouraging and open in conversation. It was very positive. As you get older and have more experience, you find your voice, not to be argumentative, but to be challenging. It’s about understanding why you’re doing it, and if you’re not, ask.

It’s an attitude she inherited from her parents, from her upbringing; “Lower your head, keep on working. Missing out on World Cup qualification in Italy last September was heartbreaking, but the team used subsequent games against the United States and Japan as a cathartic process, determined to give outgoing players like Lindsay Peat and Ciara Griffin a fitting start.

“For us as a team that was our goal, to focus on the game of rugby, to enjoy being together and playing together. That was my attitude, everything that was irrelevant to me I just wanted to play rugby, get drafted and enjoy the last few weeks with these players.

What kind of captain is she? Fryday tells a great story about how McWilliams broke the news. “In the last camp before the start of the Six Nations, we had played an internal game on Saturday and Greg had said he was going to announce the captain on Sunday. We were in a team meeting and my parents appeared on the screen .

“Greg said, ‘we have our family here, and our captain for the season is going to be Nichola Fryday.’ which he did. I loved that he included my family. They thought they were going to have a family group whatsapp call. It was kind of a hot mess all around; my mom was crying, I was crying.

“[Her predecessor] Ciara Griffin’s emotion really came out at times and the girls said when I was told “oh my god we have another screamer”.

There were tough experiences in the Six Nations, but through those trials and tribulations the team showed character. Japan, who are preparing for the World Cup and are unbeaten in 2022, will add another element to Ireland’s benchmarking process under McWilliams, a chance to mix youth and experience.

Friday will be so important to this process. She is a leader on and off the pitch, developing that skill over time. She is expected to be offered one of IRFU’s professional contracts and, after reading the details, will decide whether or not to accept Exeter’s offer to play there for another season, having originally arrived on a short-term contract last November.

Japan remains the main objective. “It’s the perfect opportunity for these young girls to come and show what they can do, to learn and to grow. For us, it’s a huge chance and we are all very excited. Shooting in Japan will be amazing, I never thought we would have such an opportunity.

Tullamore in Tokyo, it’s been a journey so far with the prospect of much more to come.