Women in Sport: Irish Rugby Player Eve Higgins

Eve Higgins is an Irish Rugby Football Union contracted Women’s Rugby Player. She plays Sevens and 15s for Ireland, and has played in two Sevens Rugby World Cups in both San Francisco and Cape Town. Eve has also played in two Six Nations Campaigns for 15s. Having made countless friends and travelled the world through sport, Eve Higgins counts herself extremely lucky that she gets to call this her job.

Here, she shares her sporting story so far…

Name: Eve Higgins

Profession: Rugby player/student

Earliest sporting memory?

Probably seeing the Six Nations on the television from an early age and then going to the local Karate club and having a blast!

How did you become involved in your sport?

My older brother played for the local rugby club Barnhall and one day when I was eight years old, I asked my parents if I could go down and give it a go. Although I was the only girl on the team, I never looked back! I was very lucky to have such a supportive club. I was brought in to train with the Sevens and 15s national team when I was 16 and was offered a Sevens contract when I was 18.

What message would you like to share with young women and girls interested in pursuing a career as an athlete?

Work hard and don’t give up. It’s like the saying goes, nothing comes easy. It’s gonna be tough and it’s gonna take a lot of extra practice, but when you reach your goals, it’s worth it. Especially when you’re having FUN!

Proudest moment so far…

Qualifying for the Olympics this year. It has been a long journey for our Sevens team, full of past disappointment as we have never qualified for an Olympics before, so the happiness and relief we felt as a whole was amazing, especially when a lot of our family was there.

The female athlete I admire most is…

Katie Taylor because I grew up admiring her, she is an amazing athlete and seems like an even better person. She’s a great role model.

Favourite sporting memory…

Regarding my career, it’s qualifying for the Olympics and the week that followed. One of my favourite overall sporting memories is seeing Katie Taylor win Gold at the Olympics in a crowded pub. The country came to a stop. Also, seeing the 2011 Heineken Cup Final in Cardiff, an exciting comeback from Leinster vs Northampton.

Do you think there is still a stigma around women in sport?

Yes, I do, especially when you see it every day in comments on social media sports pages.

What is the biggest barrier to driving visibility in women’s sports?

I think promotion could still be a lot better. I saw a video recently of someone talking about how there was barely any promotion for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. It should have been done a little earlier.

The biggest stigma/misconception that exists in women’s sport is…

That if someone doesn’t like it, it shouldn’t exist at all. There are negative opinions regarding girls/women playing sports in general. It seems as though there are lots of people who just think that girls shouldn’t play particular sports because it’s too aggressive or it’s not entertaining enough. It’s even more disappointing when you hear it on the radio. Leah Williamson put it really well before, if you don’t like watching a particular sport, women’s rugby, for example, don’t watch it. It doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t exist at all! We will get other people to watch and enjoy.

If I wasn’t an athlete I would be…

I find this so hard to answer as sport has been such a huge influence in my life, it’s hard to imagine a life without it. I enjoy learning, especially history, so maybe I would have been a teacher. I am currently doing an MSc in Criminology so maybe something to do with that also.

My favourite pre-match meal is…

Porridge/Weetabix, I get quite nervous and can’t stomach anything too crazy so I stick to plain-ish food. Maybe pancakes if there are any.

My pre-match includes…

A random mix. I can go from Eminem, to Harry Styles, to Billie Eilish, to a song from a musical.

My daily routine is…

When I am training, I leave my house at around 7:15am. When I arrive at the IRFU High Performance Centre, I will eat breakfast and train on pitch, eat a little snack – maybe a yoghurt – then we go to the gym, after which we have lunch. Depending on the day, we might have an analysis session where we review training or games together or we might have a meeting. I get home at around 3/4 pm when I try to be productive and do my thesis! During off season, I get up, make an iced coffee and do my thesis. I try to squeeze in a walk to clear my head as well!

My biggest sporting goal is…

My biggest goal in Sevens is to play for Ireland in the Olympics, and for 15s, it’s to play in the World Cup.

Sports brands I love (Irish or otherwise)…

adidas, they’re the only rugby boots I wear and I love their runners. I also love LuluLemon!

Biggest splurge to celebrate a win…

Probably going out for brunch multiple times during the week, and catching up with my friends.

How do you mind your mental health?

I always talk to people. If I am away on trip,  I can talk to my teammates – they’re always there and usually know exactly what you’re going through. I also talk to my parents, they always have the best advice.

My three desert island beauty products are:

You are asking the wrong person there! I would say a hairbrush and suncream, maybe some moisturiser too but that’s pretty much it.

I need at least eight hours of sleep at night because…

If I don’t get that much, I’ll be cranky and tired all day!

Confidence, to me, is…

Believing in myself. If I am lacking a bit of confidence in certain areas, say skills, I will practise them over and over so I am more confident in them. That way if I am losing my confidence, I can revert back to the basics of the skill and the time I have put into it. A lot of times, your head tries to play games with you. You need to know how to build your confidence back up by going back to what you’re good at and simplifying things.

How do you get over a bad performance?

Kind of what I said before, simplify things. I like to review games and see how I can improve. In Sevens, you might only have three hours in between games, so it teaches you to reflect and look ahead quickly as you can’t waste energy on a bad performance.

Lastly, why is sport such an integral part of community, on a club, local, national and personal level?

Sport brings people together, I have made countless friends, across the world as well, that I will have all my life now! It also teaches you so many values, like respect, which can make you a better person.

Imagery courtesy of JC Sports Photography and Inpho Sports.

This article was originally published in July 2023.