When Portlaoise native Alison Miller scored Ireland's second try against New Zealand in last month's Women's Rugby World Cup, she immediately etched herself into rish sporting folklore.
It proved a fateful moment in what has gone on to become a storied odyssey among this country's rugby-supporting public. Miller and her comrades would famously go on to win the match - a first win against All-Black opposition for any senior Irish rugby team- before adding a semi-final appearance in that tournament to their ground-breaking Six Nations triumph of the previous year.
Of course, it’s not often that sportswomen here get a share of the limelight usually reserved for their male counterparts.
As opposed to the fanatic levels of support enjoyed by men's soccer and rugby teams, you could probably count on one hand the amount of times our nation has lavished similar attention on our female athletes, as was the case with trailblazers such as Sonia O'Sullivan, Derval O'Rourke and the inimitable Katie Taylor.
“For women to get media coverage they need to really excel, whereas men will always have that coverage regardless of success,” says Ireland winger Miller, as she settles into the more familiar surroundings of her midlands home following a week of studies in UCC.
Women’s sport has endured a long struggle to mainstream acceptance here, but she believes that things have improved rapidly over recent years. A former Leinster champion with the Laois ladies football team, the 29 year-old had dabbled in various sports before deciding to dedicate her time to rugby during her first stint at college in Waterford.
“Probably for the first year I was playing rugby a lot of people asked me was it tag, and they were surprised to know it was contact, but it’s definitely easier for girls to join now which is an improvement. I grew up doing athletics and the women were always viewed as just as important as the men, then going into team sports I probably didn’t realise the difference but it definitely has improved.
“There’s been more media coverage and after the last World Cup there were so many people watching Ireland that probably wouldn’t have supported women’s sport,” says Miller, whose late father Bobby, a celebrated intercounty player with Laois, proved a role model during her formative years.
“My father was involved with Laois, and he managed the hugely successful Eire Óg team from Carlow in the 1990s, so the standards he set for that team, the success that they had, the expectations from that kind of sunk into me at an early age. Seeing what he expected of his players seeps into you, and you realise what it takes to be successful.”
From honing her skills with her siblings in the back garden of their family home, to representing her country on the biggest stage in world sport, Miller’s avid enthusiasm for excellence in competition has never wavered. Although admittedly she would prefer women’s rugby to go in the direction of professionalism, as has happened with the English team that romped to victory in the summer’s World Cup, money has never been a motivating factor for the Connacht star.
“I don’t see why it couldn’t go that way, obviously as players we play for the love of the game, but it’s a great opportunity for a lot of people if they wanted to go professional… It’s not a reason why a lot of people play, but I suppose if they were offered a lot of people would be interested.
“When other teams are semi-professional or have professional coaches and are able to go and do more training than we are, you can either complain about it, or you can go and try to match them, which is what we’ve done.”
While the quest for professional status remains a long term ambition for the team, Miller is more focussed on maintaining the work being done to entice girls into playing rugby at grass roots level.
“The IRFU now have some really good initiatives like ‘Give it a Try’ and they’re really encouraging clubs to have women’s and girl’s sides, and obviously the success the Irish women’s team has had has meant that there’s more profile attached to it,” says the former WIT student, who took some pestering herself before trying her hand with the college’s rugby side.
“You’ll often hear this perception that women should grow up and stop playing sports once they get to a certain age, but if you’re a talented sports person you should be involved in as many sports as you can from a young age because you never really know what your best sport is going to be.”
As the interprovincial season swings into gear once more, she will be hoping to replicate her sparkling international form at club level. She may have scaled the summit of elite sport herself, but the affable Miller always has some words of encouragement to girls who are contemplating picking up the old egg.
“You have to go out and keep pushing yourself as far as you can go. Sometimes it won’t be easy, especially when you’re a girl as a lot of your friends will be going out and having fun, and you need to be disciplined. But the highs you get from sport, you’ll never match them anywhere else. You can’t get them from other areas of your life I don’t think, and it’s worth all the discipline and sacrifice to achieve it.”
