‘It Was All Good Butterflies And Excitement’ – Erin King On Her Ireland 15s Debut

Fans across the globe marvelled this summer at Erin King’s strength and athleticism when lifting and holding up Emily Lane at a restart, and she drew more plaudits when making her Ireland 15s debut on Saturday.

Her lively 29-minute cameo against Australia showcased her ability to consistently make ground as a ball carrier, as she beat three defenders during 10 carries which saw her gain 39 metres.

Having already played over 100 HSBC SVNS Series matches at the age of just 20, and become an Olympian recently in Paris where her viral moment against Great Britain was watched by millions, King was eager to make an impact on her 15s international bow.

“Jeez, it felt surreal,” she admitted, following the 36-10 win over Australia at Kingspan Stadium. “It was great craic to go out there with those girls. They made it easy for me.

“My mindset was just like, ‘let’s see how far we can push this Aussie team’. I know the girls started off really well in that first half, but I knew we had more in us.

“I guess coming from Sevens, I’m quite used to getting very hyped and coming on for a short space of time, and just giving it my everything.

“I was just doing it for the team, seeing how much I could help out the team and seeing how far we could push the Aussies.”

A member of the Ireland Sevens squad since 2021, King was an Under-18 Interprovincial title winner with Leinster in the 15s code that year. Her sporting talents saw her play U-18 rugby for Naas RFC at the age of 15, and she was also a Wicklow minor Gaelic footballer.

The Blessington-based youngster quickly shone for the Ireland Sevens team with her physicality around the pitch, particularly in hunting down turnovers and penalties at the breakdown, and also displaying her offloading ability when on the attack.

Following the Olympics, she has now added to the already-impressive back row stocks marshalled by Scott Bemand, and his newly-arrived forwards coach Alex Codling. Her sharpness in training this past fortnight earned her a debut off the bench against the Wallaroos.

It has been quite a while since King played a 15s match at senior level. She last turned out for Old Belvedere during the 2021/22 season, helping them to a third place finish in the Energia All-Ireland League, with Brittany Hogan, Deirbhile Nic a Bháird, and Niamh O’Dowd among the forwards.

The all-action flanker, praised by Bemand for ‘just running like she wants to score every time she touches the ball’, explained: “In the last few years, I haven’t played very many (15s matches). I’ve played three senior 15s games for Old Belvedere, but that’s about it.

“Not very many, but I guess the Sevens skills do transfer over and the last two weeks in training camp have been really helpful. The girls have just been teaching me loads, and the coaches.

“Everything I knew to do out there I’ve learnt to do in the last two weeks really. I wasn’t too nervous. I have a lot of experience on the World Series playing the Sevens, so I have experience at international level.

“Then I guess there has been so much clarity and the coaches and the girls, especially the forwards in the lineout, have helped me so much.

“I was obviously a little bit nervous. I had butterflies in my stomach when we were singing the anthems, but it was all good butterflies and it was more just excitement.”

It also helped that the Sydney-born forward had a number of her Ireland Sevens team-mates alongside her for the Australia clash. Fellow Paris Olympians Lane, Eve Higgins, Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, and Stacey Flood were all involved.

It was a particularly proud day for Wicklow RFC as the 21-year-old Elmes Kinlan, who made her debut on the right wing, became just the second player from the club to win a senior 15s international cap for Ireland.

“It was really nice getting my first cap alongside Vicky Kinlan, because we’ve been playing Sevens together the last three years,” acknowledged King, who was thinking of belting out some Mariah Carey for her first cap song.

“That was lovely and they’ve made the transition a little bit smoother. But (in) saying that, the girls that are already in 15s, we see them around the HPC (IRFU High Performance Centre).

“We’re one big Women’s programme, so they made it really easy for me. They taught me everything and they’re always there to help.”

Meanwhile, Murphy Crowe was keen to highlight the hard work of the extended squad in preparing Bemand’s charges to made a strong start to the new season. It was her first appearance for the Ireland 15s team since the 2022 Six Nations.

“It’s great to be out there with the girls, being able to put in a performance like that,” she told Irish Rugby TV. “It’s literally 1 to 40-something, the amount of members of our squad, who did that.

“The girls who prepped up for the last two weeks were able to make sure we put our best foot forward, heading into this weekend.

“The girls that did get on the pitch were just outstanding. We saw how good the forwards were up front, and then for us backs, our platform from there, we were able to run off that.”

🗣️ "It's a very exciting time for this group."

Ireland winger Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe says Saturday's victory over Australia can be the launchpad for a big season ahead.#IrishRugby pic.twitter.com/1FZgYzBP6c

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) September 16, 2024

The Tipperary flyer, who now has ten 15s international caps to her name, missed out on a try but did provide a slick assist for Aoife Wafer’s second score as Ireland pushed into a 31-5 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining.

For Sevens regulars King and Murphy Crowe, the focus now turns to the eagerly-awaited WXV1 tournament in Canada where Ireland will make their debut in the top tier of the global event which is only in its second season.

With big showdowns with World champions New Zealand, hosts Canada, and the USA to come between September 29 and October 11, Ireland’s all-time Sevens top try scorer added: “We’re obviously off to Canada next weekend, so I hope we get a big following for that.

“A very exciting time for this group, especially for the next year which is going to be huge for Irish Women’s rugby heading into a Six Nations and then into the World Cup in England.”