Women’s Six Nations: Youghal’s Claire Keohane ready to be thrown in at the deep end
By Daire Walsh
After enjoying a dream debut off the bench at Donnybrook last weekend, Youghal’s Claire Keohane is set for another significant milestone on Sunday.
With Gloucester-Hartpury fly-half Ellen Murphy (calf) ruled out through injury, the former Cork camogie star — who replaced Murphy in the last quarter of the win over Scotland — is in line to start for the Ireland women in their round two Six Nations encounter against Wales at Energia Park, Donnybrook (RTE Two, 1pm).
While the prospect of being thrown into a key playmaking role could be daunting for some, Keohane seems immune to the pressure.
“Is it the most important position on the field? I would more so argue that the players around you, as a ten, make you look better than you are.
“It is about everyone being on the same page. We’ve such clarity in our roles at the moment and you could see it in the first half against Scotland,” Keohane explained.
“We put in fantastic passages of play for about 20-25 minutes. You would be looking to build on that.
“If I do get the opportunity to play, I will hopefully slot right in there because the girls around me make it easy.”
Despite being named in the squad for the 2019 Championship, Keohane’s international experience before last Sunday had been restricted to the sport’s Sevens code. Since making her bow in 2013, she has become a regular fixture on the global circuit.
Having featured prominently on the World Series stage in recent years — while simultaneously studying medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons — Keohane is hoping to bring a strong skill set into the 15s game.
“For me as a 10, it’s about my distribution and being able to facilitate the girls around me. My job is about putting them in space and them then using their skills to the best of their ability. Being able to spot space as best as I can and being able to distribute the ball.
“That’s my role as a playmaker in Sevens. That has very much transitioned into my role in 15s.”
“I grew up playing rugby underage at home in Youghal. I played with the boys up until I was about 11. My brother was playing in there and I was dragged in. I was exposed to rugby at a very young age and I absolutely loved it. It’s fantastic that now there are pathways for girls to play right up through their teens and progress into adult rugby.
“That wasn’t there at the time for me, so the natural progression was to play camogie and football.