‘We’re Continuing To Build As A Team’ – Cooke Scrum Half Boyce

As the regular season draws to a conclusion, Cooke have seen gradual improvements over the last couple of years, and want to stay on an upward curve heading into 2025/26 in the Energia All-Ireland League Women’s Division.

More points on the board and more wins have been a key sign that Cooke are heading in the right direction under Brian McLaughlin, their new head coach this season.

While they are still at the bottom end of the table, the Belfast side battled through the campaign with the bare bones of a squad on some match days, and will hope that this new chapter can widen their player pool and strength in depth.

Young scrum half Georgia Boyce has featured in all bar one of their All-Ireland League games this season, and speaking to IrishRugby.ie, she has seen big improvements, both individually and collectively, under McLaughlin.

“There have been massive improvements in our performances both as a team and for individual players, and that’s testament to the work and effort that Brian has put into this season, constantly pushing us to do better,” she said.

“We have had some brilliant performances. We can take those improvements into the next few matches and then into next season and continue to build as a team.”

Coming off last week’s impressive 24-21 win over Galwegians, Cooke are in buoyant mood as that result secured their AIL status for next season. With three wins on the board, they will no doubt be targeting more success during the closing rounds.

The 2019/20 season was the last time that they registered three victories in the league proper, and reflecting on last Saturday’s four-try display, Boyce says they were pleased to get the job done in tense circumstances.

“It meant a lot to us as a group, even though it might not have looked like it at the time,” she admitted, with Amy Benson, Tara O’Neill, Lucy Thompson, and captain Megan Simpson sharing out the tries.

“I think the feeling after the final whistle was more of relief than anything else. Galweigans got a late try, which was frustrating, but on the whole a decent performance and it was a ‘must win’ match, so it did the job.”

Playing rugby for Boyce began back in 2018. Despite being just 21, the talented half-back is now one of the more experienced members of the squad, having taken up rugby at Cooke as part of the IRFU’s ‘Give It A Try’ programme (sponsored by Canterbury).

Alongside her sister Tamzin, she worked her way up at Shaw’s Bridge through the underage ranks. Now in her fourth season playing All-Ireland League rugby, she feels an extra special connection with the senior team as it includes family, friends, and former coaches.

I started playing rugby in the summer of 2018. My sister had started playing at Cooke a few months before me, and they were running the ‘Give It A Try’ programme that summer, so I decided to give it a go and I’ve been at Cooke ever since.

“I played U-16 and U-18 rugby at Cooke and then moved up into senior rugby, and this is now my fourth season of All-Ireland League rugby.

“I’ve been lucky enough to get the opportunity to play alongside people who coached me during my time in the youth section here at Cooke, alongside friends who I came through youth rugby with, and alongside my sister too.”

Despite their AIL safety now assured going into this weekend’s penultimate round, McLaughlin’s charges are far from finished with their 2024/25 campaign.

Having worked hard to get points this season, there is still ten points on offer at Tullow this evening, and at home to Suttonians in two weeks’ time. Cooke could finish as high as seventh in the table, should results go their way.

“We are safe now, but just because we are safe doesn’t mean we stop working,” insisted Boyce, who will start alongside Amanda Morton at half-back for today’s clash with the Carlow outfit at Blackgates.

“It has taken the pressure off us going into this weekend but we still want to finish the season on a high. We have come so far this season, we have played some of the best rugby we have ever played, at least in my time with Cooke.

“So we’re going out and targeting these last two matches. We are very capable of two more wins this season, it just depends on how much we want it.

“The effort has got to be there, particularly against Tullow. We’ve got to be focused from the first to the final whistle. They are going to be coming after their first win of the season, and we don’t want to give it to them.”

To their credit, Cooke fought hard to fulfil their away fixtures in the AIL this season. Injuries started to pile up, amongst other factors, and some weeks they were left with just 15 players to operate with.

A walkover had to be conceded away to reigning champions UL Bohemian in round 15, which did cost Boyce and her team-mates a big five points that could well have seen them finish higher up the league ladder.

Not fulfilling fixtures and lining out with low playing numbers has certainly been frustrating, but Boyce is hopeful that Cooke can field full squads in these final rounds and do so on a more consistent basis next term.

“We have had a few injuries this season, and had quite a few girls out too with longer-term injuries. It had been frustrating to play with low numbers and to concede a match.

“But I can’t fault the effort of players who have done their best and given their all for the team this season, and allowed us to fulfil nearly every fixture.

“There are many players on the team who make sacrifices to be able to play matches on a Saturday and train throughout the week.

“It was lovely to get some decent sized squads out in recent weeks, it really does make the difference on match day, so hopefully that will continue into these final two matches.”

Overall it has been a year of both positives and negatives for Cooke, some high points and some low points. With some exciting underage players getting their first taste of AIL action this year, they should be even stronger collectively next season.

“There have been ups and downs this season. There have been moments of happiness and moments of frustration, but that is the nature of sport,” admitted Boyce.

“I think overall, we have had a decent season. A few more wins would have been nice, but I think it’s the most successful season I’ve been a part of with Cooke.

“We put out some massive performances this season, and many of the scorelines don’t reflect the effort that we put in.

“It’s been a tough season, but we are building towards next season (already) and hoping to get some new players down and some youth players moving up.”

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