Saturday is a landmark day for Irish rugby and also for a Churchtown girl. Heather O’Brien will line out for Ireland against England in the Women’s Six Nations, Triple Crown crunch game at Twickenham immediately after the men’s game between the nations.
In 2013 Ireland won the Women’s Six Nations Triple Crown and Grand Slam for the first time, and a win on Saturday will mean a second Triple Crown for the country.
Heather O’Brien, who plays club rugby with Highfield, is a key member of coach Philip Doyle’s Ireland pack and scored Ireland’s only try in the recent hard fought win over Wales.
Heather, who runs her own physiotherapist business in Mallow, will win her 12th cap for Ireland on Saturday and will be supported from the Twickenham stands by her mother Margaret and sister Sarah, who is on annual leave from Australia.