In our series, Behind the Player in association with Deloitte, Ulster’s Women players share a little bit about themselves, as well as recommendations for coping during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This week, Ulster Rugby spoke to Malone and Ulster Rugby second row, Chloe McIlwaine.
Tell us a little about your rugby pathway to date.
I’m probably quite a newbie to the game having just played three seasons. I played hockey all through secondary school and for Queen’s University. I went to do my Master's at Loughborough University and I decided that I would focus less on sport and make sure I would graduate. I took a back seat from hockey but I wanted to try something else. There was a ‘Give It a Try’ event at uni so I went along where I got picked up by the 1st XV coach there. Within a couple of weeks, I was starting at centre for Loughborough 1sts. After that, I came back home and played for Ballynahinch. This season, I moved to Malone to play in the All-Ireland League. I’ve been in the Ulster setup for two years now as well.
Who have been your main influences in your rugby career?
What barriers have you had to overcome to reach this point?
I’ve been quite lucky; there haven’t been many barriers for me. At Loughborough, the facilities are world-class. We trained and played on 4G pitches and in professional rugby stadiums. My first rugby coach was Sarah Hunter who is the England Rugby captain. That was phenomenal. Coming to Ulster, the setup with Suff (Derek Suffern, Performance Coach), Diesel (Paul Heasley, Strength & Conditioning Coach), and Pops (Neill Alcorn, Head Coach) and our other coaches, has been second-to-none. At Malone, you can see the support we get for women’s sport which is fantastic.
Moving here after playing in England, there’s a big difference for women’s rugby and we aren’t quite able to match them yet at the professional level, but the support we get in clubs and provincial teams, hopefully that will only take another couple of seasons before we get there.
What have you been up to in the last few months?
I’m the Hockey Development Officer for Queen’s University, so I was working at the start [of COVID-19], was furloughed in the middle and now I’m back to work. I got a little dog in December. Luna is 9 months old now, so it’s been her and me against the world. We’ve been touring all the doggy play parks in Northern Ireland and visiting my family. I’ve been doing some painting on the side which I enjoy too.
[caption id="attachment_35586" align="alignnone" width="768"]
Chloe's dog, Luna[/caption]
How do you stay motivated?
With Ulster, we have our strength and conditioning group with our coach, Diesel. That has been good because it puts the onus on us to train. We know the other girls are doing their training plans. You don’t want to turn up to pre-season and be the last person to finish your runs! My family is pretty active and my mum is cycling 20-odd miles every couple of days, so the pressure is on me to get up and do something as well!
What advice can you give about keeping fit?
It’s important to try and include someone else in your training. My boyfriend plays rugby so we can go out and do our pre-season training together. You can do workouts over FaceTime or Zoom with a teammate, or even record and share your times. It’s hard to motivate yourself when it’s only you, but when other people are relying on you, then that holds you accountable.
What about any healthy eating advice? What’s the best meal you’ve made at home?
My mum always says, “everything in moderation”! I’m quite partial to the chocolate and crisps but obviously in moderation. I would say I’m a decent cook; hopefully everyone who eats my food would agree. Most things at home were made from scratch, so I’d say my best dish has been homemade carbonara or a chicken and chorizo risotto. They were pretty good!
What have you been doing to stay calm and relax?
It’s great having the dog and being able to go out and get a bit of daily exercise taking her for a walk. I’m quite partial to painting, it’s nice to focus on something and it completely clears your head. I’m not a big bookworm but I recently read the Peter Crouch autobiography which was hilarious. I’ve started listening to his podcasts as well. They’re good as you can zone out if you’ve had a stressful day. It’s good to switch off and have something else you enjoy. I watch crime documentaries on Netflix; I just finished The Sinner and need to find another series to get hooked on!
[caption id="attachment_35587" align="alignnone" width="768"] One of Chloe's paintings[/caption]
What has been the best advice you’ve received?
When we go out onto the pitch, all you can ask for is to do your best. Just try to focus on the task at hand. If everything doesn’t go as planned but you know you’ve given 100%, that’s all you can ask for.
What have been your proudest moments in rugby?
[caption id="attachment_35588" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Chloe and her family after playing Connacht at The Dub[/caption]
Do you have a pre-match song you always listen to?
That’s a tough one! I quite like listening to ‘Spectrum’ by Florence & The Machine by myself in the car. It only takes me 10 minutes to drive to Malone so I listen to it on repeat.
What are your rugby aspirations?
As I mentioned, I was recently converted to a forward this season. I was playing second row for both Ulster and Malone. My goals for this season would be to establish myself in the back row with Malone. Some of the girls and I work really well together so at the minute, we’re just starting back at pre-season. That’s the short-term goal for me. We’re meant to play Inter-Pros in August but due to COVID-19, they have been postponed. Long-term goal is to get back into the Ulster jersey.
Chloe's dog, Luna[/caption]
How do you stay motivated?
With Ulster, we have our strength and conditioning group with our coach, Diesel. That has been good because it puts the onus on us to train. We know the other girls are doing their training plans. You don’t want to turn up to pre-season and be the last person to finish your runs! My family is pretty active and my mum is cycling 20-odd miles every couple of days, so the pressure is on me to get up and do something as well!
What advice can you give about keeping fit?
It’s important to try and include someone else in your training. My boyfriend plays rugby so we can go out and do our pre-season training together. You can do workouts over FaceTime or Zoom with a teammate, or even record and share your times. It’s hard to motivate yourself when it’s only you, but when other people are relying on you, then that holds you accountable.
What about any healthy eating advice? What’s the best meal you’ve made at home?
My mum always says, “everything in moderation”! I’m quite partial to the chocolate and crisps but obviously in moderation. I would say I’m a decent cook; hopefully everyone who eats my food would agree. Most things at home were made from scratch, so I’d say my best dish has been homemade carbonara or a chicken and chorizo risotto. They were pretty good!
What have you been doing to stay calm and relax?
It’s great having the dog and being able to go out and get a bit of daily exercise taking her for a walk. I’m quite partial to painting, it’s nice to focus on something and it completely clears your head. I’m not a big bookworm but I recently read the Peter Crouch autobiography which was hilarious. I’ve started listening to his podcasts as well. They’re good as you can zone out if you’ve had a stressful day. It’s good to switch off and have something else you enjoy. I watch crime documentaries on Netflix; I just finished The Sinner and need to find another series to get hooked on!
[caption id="attachment_35587" align="alignnone" width="768"] One of Chloe's paintings[/caption]
What has been the best advice you’ve received?
When we go out onto the pitch, all you can ask for is to do your best. Just try to focus on the task at hand. If everything doesn’t go as planned but you know you’ve given 100%, that’s all you can ask for.
What have been your proudest moments in rugby?
[caption id="attachment_35588" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Chloe and her family after playing Connacht at The Dub[/caption]
Do you have a pre-match song you always listen to?
That’s a tough one! I quite like listening to ‘Spectrum’ by Florence & The Machine by myself in the car. It only takes me 10 minutes to drive to Malone so I listen to it on repeat.
What are your rugby aspirations?
As I mentioned, I was recently converted to a forward this season. I was playing second row for both Ulster and Malone. My goals for this season would be to establish myself in the back row with Malone. Some of the girls and I work really well together so at the minute, we’re just starting back at pre-season. That’s the short-term goal for me. We’re meant to play Inter-Pros in August but due to COVID-19, they have been postponed. Long-term goal is to get back into the Ulster jersey.