Four years on from her last Irish cap, Deirbhile Nic A Bháird says she's found her love of rugby again, after taking a 'sos beag' from the game last year.
The Cork woman is back in the Irish squad for the TikTok Women's Six Nations after catching the eye for Munster in their Interpro championship win in January, and will hope to earn her fifth cap when head coach Greg McWilliams names his side to take on Wales (Saturday 2.15pm) tomorrow.
The 27-year-old was first drafted into the squad ahead of the 2017 World Cup as a winger, but by the time she made her debut in the 2019 Six Nations she'd been moved into hooker, playing four times during that campaign.
Either side of those caps for the XV's team she was a regular presence in the Irish Sevens setup, but having taken time away from rugby when she departed the system in 2021, she returned with some formidable performances for Old Belvedere in the All Ireland League, before being one of the stars for Munster in their Interpro success earlier this year.
"It's great to be back," the Ballincollig native says.
"It's something you always miss when you're not in. I thought it might be off the cards for a while, I took a little time off after leaving the Sevens programme, but just missed it so much that I ended up back with Munster and Belvo for the club season.
"I just took a 'sos beag', yeah! I just took a small break after Sevens, it was a rollercoaster, it's a fairly high-octane game, you're on the road a lot, and I had a few things in my life I left behind and had to sort out, but the opportunity to come back into XVs has been unbelievable. There's a rally good buzz in the group, and I've been living for that really.
"I found a love for it again, and I'm delighted that's showing on the pitch as well, and getting to play more free-flowing rugby. I'm really enjoying it.
"People in rugby are my family, and my best friends are all playing. It's been an unbelievable opportunity to take the field with people who were just coming on the scene when I was in and out of it."
While Josh van der Flier and Cian Healy grabbed headlines in recent weeks for their versatility in the Six Nations win against Scotland, Nic a Bháird was doing likewise during both the Interpro campaign as well for the Combined Provinces in the Celtic Challenge, playing both in the back row and at hooker.
That versatility will naturally be a huge draw for the Irish coaches ahead of this campaign, and she says she's happy to play anywhere if it means picking up another cap.
"On the ball!" she says, when asked where she prefers to play her rugby.
"Anywhere where I can do the stuff that I love doing.
"We're really systems-oriented at the moment, trying to build up a good, consistent style of play, so we have a very good platform to build off. From a point of view of positions, it doesn't really bother me much, just where I can be most useful, and use the best part of my game to the team's advantage."
A third place finish for Ireland will be the target, which will secure qualification for the top tier of the new WXV competition later in the year.
In order to do so they will likely need three wins from the campaign, and with England and France looking a league above the rest in the Six Nations, it will leave Ireland needing to pick up three wins on the road against Wales, Italy and Scotland in order to secure a top-half finish.
However, Nic a Bháird (above) believes they're more than capable of delivering those results.
"We are a new squad and there's great momentum in the squad after the contracts. It's huge for us.
"The Japan campaign was massive as well. People learnt so much from that experience, just even in terms of how to prepare for an international. All those little things.
"Having the experience and the time to work on those skills off of the pitch. They’re all huge factors in the success of a campaign, but they all build to how you perform on the pitch.
"When you get our mindset right and we get our systems right, then we can express ourselves off the back of a really good foundation. That’s what we’ll be looking for from the offset."
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Watch Munster v Glasgow (5.15pm) and Ulster v Vodacom Bulls (7.35pm) in the BKT United Rugby Championship on Saturday live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
