Ulster's Claire McLaughlin could make her international debut on Saturday, after being named in the match day squad for Ireland's historic Autumn Test against England (3pm, Twickenham Stoop).
The Queen’s University centre has been involved in training squads before, including a camp based at Kingspan Stadium last month, but this is her first opportunity to participate in some competitive action.
“I was in the squad last year but got cut at an early stage so I’m delighted to have made the panel of 23 for the England game,” enthused McLaughlin. “It’s good to be part of such a professional set up, which includes training, nutrition and recovery.”
The 23 year old says she is thriving in the high performance environment:
“It’s a huge step up,” she says. “It’s really good coming into this and having that higher intensity and knowing that you have to give more. I’m the type of person that likes to give 100% in everything I do and you definitely have to do that when you’re training with an Ireland squad.”
While McLaughlin has forced her way into contention to earn her first cap, she is aware that there’s still plenty in her game that she needs to develop:
“I’ve improve on a few things over the past six weeks since the initial training squad was announced, but there is still a lot of improvements needed. I know that my passing needs to be a lot better and a lot sharper. I’d say that’s the main thing I have to work on. One-on-one tackling and decision making are also things that I’ll need to keep developing.”
The final year medical student was keen to praise the Ulster coaches for the support they’ve given her this season:
“The coaching at Ulster this season was second to none. It was really good having Goose (ex-Ireland coach Philip Doyle) and Jarrett (Truscott) there and they really helped us to hone our skills, bringing our basics up to scratch. It probably didn’t show in the results we got but we improved throughout the series. There’s potential for the future there.”
The Queen’s University centre has been involved in training squads before, including a camp based at Kingspan Stadium last month, but this is her first opportunity to participate in some competitive action.
“I was in the squad last year but got cut at an early stage so I’m delighted to have made the panel of 23 for the England game,” enthused McLaughlin. “It’s good to be part of such a professional set up, which includes training, nutrition and recovery.”
The 23 year old says she is thriving in the high performance environment:
“It’s a huge step up,” she says. “It’s really good coming into this and having that higher intensity and knowing that you have to give more. I’m the type of person that likes to give 100% in everything I do and you definitely have to do that when you’re training with an Ireland squad.”
While McLaughlin has forced her way into contention to earn her first cap, she is aware that there’s still plenty in her game that she needs to develop:
“I’ve improve on a few things over the past six weeks since the initial training squad was announced, but there is still a lot of improvements needed. I know that my passing needs to be a lot better and a lot sharper. I’d say that’s the main thing I have to work on. One-on-one tackling and decision making are also things that I’ll need to keep developing.”
The final year medical student was keen to praise the Ulster coaches for the support they’ve given her this season:
“The coaching at Ulster this season was second to none. It was really good having Goose (ex-Ireland coach Philip Doyle) and Jarrett (Truscott) there and they really helped us to hone our skills, bringing our basics up to scratch. It probably didn’t show in the results we got but we improved throughout the series. There’s potential for the future there.”