Scrum-half Rachael McIlroy on juggling medical studies with league and cup double aim for Queen's

The pivot, who only took rugby up when she went to university, helped Queen’s win the Junior Cup at Kingspan Stadium and also represented Ulster for the first time.

As well as gearing up for the Interprovincial series in the new year, McIlroy – a fourth-year medical student – is on a placement at the Royal Victoria Hospital and has also started coaching a girls U12 team.

“A few friends from school who played hockey together and myself made an agreement that they wanted to try rugby and I wanted to try hockey,” McIlroy said.

“So, they persuaded me saying, ‘if you come to rugby with us this week we’ll go to hockey with you next week,’ and we never made it to hockey.

“I think for us it was the social aspect of rugby that made us stay. Some of my best friends now and all the girls I lived with throughout uni I met at rugby.

“It is definitely a different atmosphere and having that support system,” she added.

“I was definitely the social aspect that kept me coming back to training. We didn’t play our first game for six months as we were all new to rugby.

“When it came to the first game we were asked to put our hand up if we didn’t want to play and I was too scared to be the only one to put my hand up, so I was kind of thrown in at the deep end. But once I played my first game I knew that was it for me.”

Queen’s currently sit second in the Women’s Premiership and McIlroy says there is a determination among the team to go all the way.

“We finished last season on a high winning the Junior Cup at Kingspan Stadium, so there is definitely a buzz about the club and maintaining that and maintaining that winning position,” she said.

“There was a lot of preparation that went into the final, however we had a few cancelled games due to Covid in the run up to it so there were definitely a lot of nerves having not had a run-out in a few weeks.

“We’d put in so much work and we knew if we just played the way we had the whole season we’d come away with the win. But Cavan put up a big fight because they are a strong team and it was very tight.

“This season I want to help Queen’s retain the Junior Cup and help the team win the league, and that is a massive aim for us,” McIlroy addded.

“I want to keep on pushing forward with Ulster and hopefully get some caps again in the interpro season and keep enjoying rugby.

“Rugby is a massive part of my downtime from university and studying, and as long as I keep enjoying it that is the main thing for me.”

McIlroy’s hard work was rewarded when she made her first Ulster appearance against Munster last season.

“It was very exciting, we were working hard all summer,” she said.

“Before that I was kind of jumping between positions. I played some centre, a bit of wing and scrum-half at Queen’s but it was when I got to training with Ulster that they wanted me to focus on ‘nine’.

“It was really rewarding to see if I could work consistently on my passing and the skills that are needed to play scrum-half, and it does pay off and it is something that I want to continue this season.

“The call-up to Ulster was a bit out of the blue with Covid and not having played in such a long time – it wasn’t something that I was really expecting. With all the support they offered it was something that I was really able to get stuck into when the call-up was made.”

Preparing for a career in medicine and juggling rugby can be tricky and McIlroy acknowledges that at times it can be “quite demanding”.

“It is quite demanding trying to balance placement every day, studying in the evenings and trying to do rugby,” she said.

“I think there is an extra hour in the day that I have been given!

“I get a good lot of support – because I’m working as a scrum-half I get extra skills support from Ulster, the coaches are so flexible and willing to work with you; they understand that I am on placement they will work around me and when I can do the extra sessions.

“I try my best to make the evening sessions because my placement runs up to 5pm. Because a lot of the girls in the squad are working nine-to-five jobs a lot of our training is set up around that.”

McIlroy is also enjoying her role as Instonians’ U12 coach and hopes that the Women’s World Cup, which reaches it’s conclusion in New Zealand this weekend, can inspire the next generation of female players.

“I think a huge part of learning rugby is watching rugby, so I’m excited for them to get involved,” she said.

“It is going really well and it is great to see how much of an influence you can have learning the sport from that age.

“I only took up rugby when I came to uni so it is really nice for them to get to build the habits early and also to have fun. They are always smiling and laughing and that is the main thing.

“Coaching is definitely challenging but it is good for me to see it from a coach’s perspective – how difficult it is for them and how much work they put in as well.”