Aoife Dalton believes her tough introduction to international rugby will stand to her in the long run with Ireland.
Still only 21-years-old, the centre will earn her 20th cap in this afternoon's Guinness Women’s Six Nations meeting with Italy in Parma, and is now a well established member of Scott Bemand’s squad.
The Offaly woman had just turned 19 when she was drafted into the Irish senior squad for the summer tour of Japan by former coach Greg McWilliams, and scored a try on her debut in the 57-22 win against the Sakura XV.
That honeymoon period didn't last though, and Dalton was a regular in an inexperienced Irish side that was learning hard lessons on the job, and finished bottom of the table in 2023.
Two years on from that chastening experience, the Old Belvedere centre believes it has fast-tracked her rugby education.
"It feels like a fever dream that I came in that young now," Dalton says.
"I was very raw coming in, I didn't really know what the expectation was. It was so beyond a dream for me.
"I didn't think I'd make an Ireland squad ever, to be honest, and then this all happened when I was 19."
She wasn't alone in the deep end, with her long-term Leinster underage team-mate Dannah O’Brien also making her debut in Japan that summer.
"Coming in with Dannah, that was a huge comfort for me. I had played underage with her, we're the same club, we played for Leinster together, so I've always been with her and it's nice having that.
"I didn't really know what was going on. But I'm very lucky with the players around me, they completely took me under their wing when I came in. The coaches as well have facilitated my growth and given me areas of my game to build on and just become a better player."
The harsh lessons learned have improved her "an awful lot" by her own admission, and ahead of turning 22 in May, she is now a nailed-on member of the Irish matchday squad, competing with Eve Higgins and Enya Breen for starts in midfield.
Dalton (below) isn’t imposing in terms of size, but she has become one of the defensive leaders in the team, and relishes the physicality of being in that busy midfield channel.
"I'm very much someone who tries to go out on the pitch and lead by my actions not words. I'm not a big talker in the dressing room or anything like that. That wouldn't be my strong area. I just go out and try to do my job on the pitch and help the girls around me.
"I suppose when I came in, I found that [defence] was one thing I could do and was able to execute on-pitch. I'd never been in an environment where there was such a demand for it, regardless of your age or how many caps you had.
"I was probably out of my depth in that areas, but I felt I could offer something on the defensive side.
"It's not easy for me, I wouldn't say it comes naturally, it's just something I knew coming in that I wanted to be really good at and I really went after it. I watch lots of rugby, in fairness, and Hugh [Hogan] is our defence coach and his level of detail he gives us makes my job easy.
"When I first came in everyone told me to watch Lynne Cantwell, I always get compared to her. We're both small, so I'd say that's why!"
After a tough first year of international rugby, Dalton (above) and her Irish team-mates have been upwardly mobile in the last 18 months, and will be looking to build further towards the World Cup this afternoon by getting the better of Italy in Parma.
And she says those early Test experiences will ensure the only way is up.
"We don't ever get complacent because a lot of the girls have been through that difficult time in 2023.
"We're in a completely different place now but we've grown so much as a group. In fairness to the coaches, they've given us so much to go after and made us believe we're good enough."
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