Niamh Briggs can be seen as one of Ireland’s greatest sporting figures. With her passion, leadership, and inspiration, Niamh is paving the way for the younger generation of female sports stars.
From captaining Ireland to two historic Six Nations victories, to now guiding the future of rugby as coach of the under-20 squad, she has seen the game evolve both on and off the pitch.
Beyond the field, Niamh is helping fans to connect with Irish culture through initiatives like IHG Hotels and Resorts’ Fancierge, which pairs travelling for games with immersive experiences. Most recently, Niamh joined fans visiting Ireland in a free Irish dancing class!
We caught up with her to chat all about her rugby career, why representation of women in rugby matter, and what she does in her downtime.
Hi Niamh, thanks so much for joining us today! Firstly, your rugby career started back in Dungarvan before getting the call for international. What first drew you to start playing rugby?
My dad and my brother were very into rugby, and I was a sports enthusiast kid! I begged them to put me into rugby because there wasn’t much else around for girls my age. It wasn’t until college, though that my career really started, and when that opportunity to play rugby came up, I was straight on it!
We can see how much women’s rugby has positively changed in recent years, but from your dual point of view as a player and now a coach, what is the atmosphere at games like now?
It’s night and day in comparison to where we were when I was playing for Ireland! We would play in Ashburn Rugby club, and we did have some amazing memories there, but when you see them now, they are filling out stadiums like Virgin Media Park and even the Aviva in May for the Six Nations.
What is the driving force for that change, do you think?
What’s making that change is society itself. It’s socially acceptable for women to play sports now. And when it comes to the Irish and sports teams being successful, we become a bunch of bandwangers, and we like to jump on the celebration. It’s just like the Irish women’s soccer team when they got into the World Cups, and the same for the rugby girls as well, which was a huge moment for the younger generation of girls. Also, the visibility of [women’s] sport being on TV all the time now and on social media. By having that, it’s given the gratification for young girls to tell them it’s good to play sports, like rugby, and that’s a really cool place to be in!
Definitely, it’s great to see! Now looking back at your career, how did it feel winning the Six Nations in 2013 and 2015
It was truly a golden time for women’s rugby. We went from winning in 2013, to the World Cup in 2014, and winning again in 2015. The memories for me aren’t about performance as such, but more about the friendships I made along that journey. But going into the last game in Scotland, we knew we had to win by 56 points, so to be able to go and beat them by a bigger score ensured we got to bring that trophy home!
We can only imagine that tournament days are full of high pressure and adrenaline, what helps you to relax those days after?
Building Lego! That’s a great thing for me, and reading too, I read a lot. But when you are in tournament mode you are constantly on to go for six or eight weeks. You are constantly recovering to be well enough to be selected again, so it’s really only post-tournament that I get to do those things.
For fans travelling over for this tournament, what would you say to get involved in over the weekend?
There’s loads to do here in Dublin! There will be great craic around Dublin with lots to do around Aviva Stadium. It will be a little different from men’s games, with more fan zones and more kids coming to the game, for a great family day out. And campaigns like the “fancierge” are really cool.
What’s it like having IHG as a sponsor for the women’s series?
It’s great to see these sponsors, who sponsor both men’s and women’s games- it’s a huge validation that this tournament is just as important as the others. Getting these girls to the Aviva is a massive thing, especially after the last 12-18 months. They have just been incredible!
What role do grassroots clubs have in building a future for women’s rugby?
A massive role! I am so passionate about the grass-root development of players, it’s so important. I spend some time going down to clubs in Munster and underage clubs to make sure that these clubs are seen. They work so hard and are run by volunteers, but also, in order for Ireland to be successful at the very top, we have to make sure that we have a pathway for young girls to come take up the game.
And just before we let you go, if there is a young girl watching the Six Nations, and wanted to give rugby a go, what would you say?
Just jump two feet in and enjoy it. The friendships that you make from rugby are massive and it’s a place for everybody. You can be fast, really strong, tall or small and there is a place for you in this game. The friends I have made from Dungarvan, all the way up to Ireland are still some of my best friends today. To be able to get into a sport.
Niamh Briggs helped host an Irish dancing class for rugby fans ahead of the match, celebrating the culture and community that surrounds match weekends. This forms part of IHG Hotels & Resorts “Fancierge”, free, bookable experiences running throughout the Women’s Six Nations—developed in response to insight showing 88% of fans turn match days into weekend trips, with 72% saying some of the best moments happen beyond the stadium. On 17th May, Holiday Inn Express Dublin will host another Irish dancing class for fans ahead of the Ireland vs Scotland final match. Fans can book these free experiences here.