Last Saturday's Guinness Women’s Six Nations opener was a special one for Aoibheann Reilly.
Just over nine months after a torn ACL ended her Olympic dream, the scrum-half made her long-awaited comeback against France in Belfast, her second major injury comeback in recent years.
Reilly only turned 24 in November, but the Roscommon woman has now been on that tortuous ACL journey twice.
It first happened to her left knee in the summer of 2022, keeping her out of the game for the guts of a year, but nine months after her comeback, the same injury – this time to her right leg – would ultimately end her hopes of playing in last year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
"It was a very emotional moment standing there for the anthems," Reilly says of making her international return last week.
"When I tore my ACL for the second time, before the Olympics last summer, I was just focusing on getting back for that France game.
"I knew that everything had to go right in my rehab journey to get back on the pitch so it was a big moment for me and my family just wearing the green again."
Having been a part of the Sevens system since 2021, Reilly would most likely have made the final squad for the Olympic games had it not been for the injury. However, the dual-international was still determined to make it to Paris, even if it wasn’t as a player.
"My parents had the OIympics booked with my brothers, so I took one of my brother’s tickets and supported the girls instead, I honestly had the best time.
"I’m really good friends with all the girls in the squad, Béibhinn [Parsons] is one of my best friends, I’ve known her for years. We were there with her family and staying in the same place.
"My attitude was if I can’t be the best player in the team, I’ll be the best supporter. For me, that was really nice to do and to have my family there supporting me was great.
"Although it was really tough not being out there on the field, it was still great to be there, soaking in the experience and being there for the girls."
With a long road of rehab ahead of her, the Ballinasloe RFC product used her time on the sidelines wisely.
While improving her game physically was out of the question, the opportunity arose to improve her game intellectually, and she linked up with the Irish men’s team for the Autumn Nations Series, working as part of their analysis team, which is led by Vinny Hammond.
"It was a great way for me to develop my knowledge off-pitch and see how they run things, and then also keep learning and growing my rugby IQ while I couldn’t be on-field. That was such a valuable experience and I’m very grateful to the IRFU and to the men’s squad for that.
"While I was rehabbing here in HPC I would tailor my days with my physio so I could be there for their big pitch sessions and then I headed over to Portugal for a few days for their pre-camp, which was great. I also shadowed a bit on matchday which was a great insight.
"It was really great for developing my game, coming back when I knew I wasn’t able to play. I could still see areas of the game I could improve. So it was about widening my vision. Hopefully it will stand to me in the next few weeks.
"I didn’t want to tear my ACL twice, they’re the cards I was dealt with it and it could have been a lot worse. You just have to get on with it and make the most of the time off the field and try to develop your game in other ways. That’s what I tried to do."
Reilly returned from injury in February, featuring for the Clovers in the Celtic Challenge, before playing off the bench in the second half of last Saturday’s Six Nations opener against France.
On Sunday, she will earn her 14th cap, this time as part of the starting team, replacing Emily Lane behind the scrum for the meeting with Italy in Parma.
And while her Olympic dream wasn't meant to be, she now has her eyes set on this summer and the World Cup in England.
"I do love the XVs game so the World Cup for me is everything. When we qualified last year, it was one of the best days ever.
"Qualifying is something I dreamed of since I picked up a rugby ball. Going to a World Cup is the pinnacle of the sport.
"So as soon as I got injured, my motivation was to put myself in the best spot to get on that plane to England. I knew we had two warm-up games this summer so I really wanted to get back for this Six Nations. That’s how I stayed motivated."
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