Summary

(1:00) Introducing Sophie Spence and her major athletic accomplishments

(1:45) Sophie’s work in television

• How it’s scary but also a privilege

• Flipping around her criticism of herself as a player

(2:24) The Irish women’s rugby team’s current standing

• Their hard match against Ireland

• Their first-time narrow defeat to Italy

• The potential effect of the weather, especially on the French team

• Highlighting players Katy Daley-Mclean, Tamara Taylor, Georgina Roberts

(4:40) The current state of the Irish squad

• Being in a ‘building stage’ and the challenges this brings

• Dealing with changes after the 2017 World Cup: retired players, new players, new management

• Why we should be focusing on developing new caps

(5:40) The end of a historic era in women’s rugby

• The strength of the squad Sophie joined

• A squad built by players who made sacrifices for the love of rugby

• How rugby is more accessible now

(7:00) Building a culture

• Knowing each other as people, outside of the pitch

• Competitiveness vs working together as a team

• Sophie and her teammates’ ‘Hot chocolate group’

• The importance of down time

(8:15) Sophie’s entry into rugby

• Her start in netball

• Studying for a Masters in sports psychology

• Falling in love with the culture and the ethos of rugby

(9:40) Being discovered by Philip Doyle (Goose)

• Going to an Exiles training session after an invitation by Juliet Shaw

• Goose’s advice: to work on her fitness level

• Her subsequent invitation by Goose to training camp

(12:30) Sophie’s first steps in the rugby world

• The lack of attention on women’s rugby at the time

• The challenge of being new to the sport and having a lot to learn

• Being brought on quickly by the other players

(14:20) Early influences and mentors

• Fiona Coghlan

• Joy Neville

• Lynne Cantwell

• Grace Davitt

(14:52) Sophie’s 2012 debut against Wales

• The buildup before a national match

• Ending the match early because of a frozen pitch

• Taking the overnight train after an injury after her first cap in France

(17:05) Playing for England or Ireland

• England’s potential interest in recruiting her

• ‘I was completely clueless about teams’

• Sophie’s heart was in Ireland

• ‘It was never a second option’

(18:25) Success of 2013

• Winning the 1st of 2 Grand Slams

• Sophie’s immediate integration into the squad

• Being new to the sport and the culture and not fully understanding the consequences of the team’s wins

• The senior players of that year

(19:35) 1st Grand Slam win

• 1st women’s international match on TV

• The bad weather and bad conditions that day

• How huge the fan support was

(21:05) The difference between 15s and 7s

• The different fitness level and skills required in 7s

• The difference in game plans

(22:35) Lead-up to the 2014 World Cup

• Using Six Nations as a building platform

• Their 8 weeks of training

• Sophie’s struggle with an injury

• Their discipline, integrity and training all leading up to the World Cup

(25:10) Ireland win against New Zealand

• ‘Everything clicked’

• Feeling like something was off with the New Zealand team

• The impact of seeing Irish fan support

• Everyone coming together

• The role of confidence

(27:35) Ali Miller’s career post-injury

(28:12) Losing to England

• England had more players and more experience

• The effect of the intensity of tournaments

• The cumulative impact of several bad moves

(29:40) Rugby in the media

• The negative media coverage of rugby

• Proving the media wrong by winning

• The ‘bandwagon effect’

(30:05) Changes in 2014-2015

• The impact of several players leaving

• The new energy and new ideas brought on by new players

• Tom Tierney replacing Philip Doyle as coach

• Why Sophie thought about leaving in 2015

• Trying to keep a culture while the culture is trying to change

(33:35) Personal nominations and wins

• Nominated for World Player of the Year

• Rugby Writers of Ireland Women’s Player of the Year

• Scrumqueens Player of the Year

• RT’ Sports Person of the Year

• Why these nominations were embarrassing to her

• ‘It’s not a game for 1 it’s a game for 15 + the squad’

(36:05) Ireland hosting the World Cup

• Partly wishing for a sunnier, more exotic location

• How hosting was good for the game and good for female sport in Ireland

(36:55) Sophie’s 2016 concussion

• Trying 3 times to go back

• Needing to be out of the game for 4 months

• The protocol and exercises required

• The impact of not allowing herself to rest mentally

• How being away from your team meant losing your main support network

• The additional stress of moving twice within this period

(40:15) Concussions in rugby

• The high concussion rates

• Learning safe tackles and equipping coaches to teach good techniques

• ‘If you’re not safe, you shouldn’t be playing’

• Taking responsibility for your own safety

• The importance of not pressuring yourself to go back early

• The pressure by some to limit or ban contact in training

• Fatigue as a factor

(42:44) Challenges in 2016-2017

• The start of Six Nations

• Missing the autumn internationals

• Feeling unsure and lacking confidence

• The importance of having teammates who push you forward

(44:20) Psychological support

• The lack of psychological support

• Relying on teammates to serve that purpose

(45:25) 2017 World Cup loss

• How things could have been done differently

• The difference between 15s and 7s and the effect of players coming in without training

• Having an unhappy squad that was unhappy with management

• The demanding training regime and the impact of fatigue

• On Ruth O’Reilley’s interview with Gavin Cummiskey and speaking up against issues in rugby

(48:45) Retirement in 2017

• Not being chosen for the Six Nations

• Watching her friends retire

• Her disappointment in watching services like nutrition counselling get removed

• Speaking up to management as a potential reason for not getting chosen

(51:20) Adapting to post-athletic life

• The difficult transition to regular life

• Extra pressure of going from job to job

(52:55) Skills retained from being an elite athlete

• Resilience

• Team management

• Teamwork

• Self-confidence

(54:15) Advice to young female athletes

• Never give up!

(54:45) The legacy of Irish women’s rugby

• IRFU’s new strategic plan

• More minis programs, more young people playing

• More structure

• The problematic lack of downtime in amateur sports

• Needing to support the transition from minis to seniors

(59:15) 7s vs 15s

• How separate these programs really are

• Not one big happy family

• The differences in funding and support

(1:00:35) Current state of the 15s

• How they’ve suffered because of players coming in and out

• The need for their culture to grow

(1:02:10) Initiatives around women’s rugby and women’s sports

• Independent Review Group

• Women in Sport policy chaired by Lynn Cantwell

• Important input by Fiona Coghlan and men’s coach Tanya Ross

• The many missed opportunities for women

(1:04:02) Changes to be made in rugby

• The need to change the amateur program into a semi-professional program to provide more structure and more time to build together

• Needing more support to make rugby more accessible and to keep girls in the game

(1:06:02) Future coaching or playing

• Looking into coaching men

(1:06:33) Opening a coffee shop in Wales

• ‘Coffee culture’ in Wales vs Ireland

• Taking it one small step at a time