ENYA Breen has the perfect routine for when she needs to step outside the rugby bubble – the Irish rugby star heads home to Castletownshend to spend time with her nieces and nephews.
Oliver, Patrick, Fódla and Sage are her biggest fans, but also exactly what Enya needs to forget about rugby for a while.
‘It is rare to get a week off in this profession, but I like to head home when I can and spend a few days by the sea, just to completely get away from it all,’ she says.
Enya was back home in West Cork this week, taking advantage of a week off as Ireland’s preparations for the Women’s Rugby World Cup start to crank up. The first three-week training block is over, so time to draw breath.
‘My nieces and nephews don’t care what I do or what I don’t do!’ Enya laughs.
‘My parents could be asking me every question about the game, but playing with my little nieces and nephews is refreshing. It is the exact break I need – they don’t care whether I have won or lost, who I am playing next or what injury I have, they just want to have some fun.’
Enya Breen celebrates Ireland's famous win against New Zealand at WXV1.
Having that separation from rugby is important. It’s very easy to get caught up in the bubble, Enya says. Experience has taught her how to deal with it – she’ll either spend time at home in West Cork or if she’s staying in Dublin Enya will head towards the coast for a walk.
‘It's a game where you can be very hard on yourself and your own worst critic at times. To be able to unwind and not think about it all for a while is lovely – over the years I have learned that is important,’ Enya explains.
‘I can be very social at times but I can also be quite introverted. Even in camp, in the evenings I have no problem having a cup of tea or a chat with the girls, but then just going into my room or going out for a while and not talking to anybody.
‘Managing yourself off the pitch helps you get more on the pitch – that’s what I find works for me. If I am in a good mental state, content and happy off the pitch it will really translate in my performance. It is something I am more deliberate with as I have got more experienced.’
It’s even something as small as driving to training on her own so Enya can have 20 minutes alone in the car. That’s her time. She listens to music, and her taste ranges from country to Taylor Swift to chart-toppers; basically, it’s anything she can sing along to. Enya is also a podcast fan. My Therapist Ghosted Me with Vogue Williams and Joanne McNally is on her Spotify list. So too is I’m Grand Mam. Enya also listens to rugby podcasts, including For The Love of Rugby with Ben Youngs and Dan Coles.
‘To be able to hear their perspective of the game and what they are seeing, it just gets me thinking and gives me a different perspective. Also, to see can I bring something different onto the pitch,’ says the 26-year-old who is constantly searching for those one-percenters that can make a difference, especially in a Rugby World Cup year.
For Enya, this is her first World Cup, so these are exciting times. With 29 international caps, she is now carrying the torch held by Clonakilty rugby great Laura Guest who played in three Rugby World Cups (2006, 2010 and 2014). For this rugby-mad hotspot it’s important to have locals like Enya who join the dots from Skibbereen Rugby Club to a Rugby World Cup.
‘It’s incredible to follow in Guesty’s footsteps, she is a legend of the game,’ Enya says.
‘To be able to represent West Cork and strengthen those rugby roots from West Cork up to the international stage is brilliant.’
West Cork’s current women’s rugby trailblazer will hope to emulate Guest who played in Ireland’s famous win against world champions New Zealand in the 2014 World Cup – that was the Black Ferns’ first World Cup defeat since 1991. In the upcoming tournament, Ireland will play New Zealand in the group stage, after games against Japan and Spain.
‘To play New Zealand in a World Cup is something that doesn’t come around too often,’ Enya says. Ireland actually stunned the world champions at the WXV1 tournament in Canada last September, winning 29-27 in Vancouver.
‘We got to play them last year and that was my first time, and I’ve been playing for six or seven years for the international team. To play them twice in one year, and one of those games in a World Cup, is unreal. You want to test yourself against the best on the world stage. I’m sure they’ll be gunning for us, but we’ll be gunning for them as well.’
Ireland’s performances in WXV1 showed what Scott Bemand’s side is capable of. They held their own against the best teams in the world, beating both New Zealand and the USA, the latter game with Enya as captain.
‘It gave us a lot of belief in what we are doing,’ the Munster star explains.
‘When we were over there we spoke a lot about awe versus belief, because these are big teams at the top table of the game. Canada. New Zealand. England. USA. France. In the years before we would have looked at that table from afar and been in awe of those players, world-class superstars. We went into that tournament believing we could mix it with them and we showed ourselves we could.
‘We took a huge amount from it, so to be able to not just compete but win two games gave us a huge amount of momentum. It solidified and gave us the backing just from ourselves. No matter what coaching you get or who is in the stands or what you did during the week, it’s all about the 80 minutes on the pitch and the people on the pitch, so to put in the performance that we knew we had in the locker but hadn't shown yet was hugely satisfying. Hopefully, that is the start of a big push.’
The preparation is intensifying, the slog in training is ratcheting up, and Enya is getting her game-face on, and that’s why she will enjoy the rare trips home to Castletownshend even more now. She can step outside the rugby bubble. Oliver, Patrick, Fódla and Sage will make sure of that.
Ireland’s three World Cup pool games are: Sunday, August 24th v Japan, Northampton, 12pm; Sunday, August 31st v Spain, Northampton, 12pm; Sunday, September 7th, v New Zealand, Brighton, 2.45pm.
