Latest news with #Djougang
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Linda Djougang: I was googling 'what is rugby?'
The last time Ireland qualified for the World Cup - as opposed to being guaranteed their slot as hosts - Linda Djougang wasn't entirely plugged in to what was happening. It was only a year later when the future Ireland prop would type the fateful words 'what is rugby?' into Google after failing in her attempt to get her name removed from a tag rugby team-sheet at a finance company where she was interning. Her complete ignorance of the laws of offside notwithstanding, the Wanderers head coach - who happened to be there - liked her hustle and asked if she'd be interested in playing a spot of 'real rugby'. Cue more googling. "It wasn't the plan," Djougang says of her start in the game back in 2015. "I signed up for tag rugby just to make friends with my colleagues at work. The game was cancelled and everyone else removed their name from the list. "But the elite team - at the company - were playing a final and they needed a girl and I was the only one that didn't remove my name from the sheet because I wasn't good at technology. "So, they were like, 'who's Linda? Do you want to play in this tag rugby final?' 'Yeah, why not?' "They were like, 'do you know rugby? Have you ever learned to play rugby?' 'No.' "I spent the whole day at work, googling 'what is rugby?' "I showed up at Wanderers, which became my first rugby club. I didn't know any of the rules. I was always offside. The ref was like, 'if you're offside one more time, I'm going to give you a yellow card.' "Then my friend passed me the ball and I ran the pitch. They were all screaming at me to score. I dropped the ball because I didn't know the rule about grounding the ball. "I got recruited there by the Wanderers manager. She came up to me after that tag rugby and asked if I wanted to play physical rugby. Real rugby. I asked her, 'what was real rugby?' "I ended up playing for Wanderers in Division 4. I got recruited to go to the Leinster trials. Then I went on to Old Belvedere and Leinster and that's where my journey started." Djougang's technological issues have proven fortunate for Irish women's rugby. The Cameroon-born prop - who moved to Rush in North County Dublin at the age of nine - has been a mainstay of the Irish set-up since 2019 and is now closing on 50 caps. She's battled through lean times in the Irish set-up to get back to the World Cup. The early 2020s were a dismal period for the women's game here, dominated by arguments with the IRFU, the low point arriving with the failure to qualify for the 2022 Women's World Cup after losses to Spain and Scotland in the autumn qualifying tournament of 2021. A further nadir was reached with a wooden spoon in the 2023 Six Nations - which was juxtaposed with the men's team's Grand Slam victory in the same year. But things have taken an upward turn since then, following the appointment of Scott Bemand as head coach in the summer of 2023 and the decision to award central contracts to women internationals bearing fruit. Ireland finished the 2024 Six Nations with a rousing win over Scotland to claim third spot. Their recovery was confirmed with a superb showing in the WXV1 in British Columbia last year, with a landmark victory over New Zealand the highlight. Another third place followed at the 2025 Six Nations, even if that campaign concluded on a bum note with a loss to Scotland. "There's so many turning points," says Djougang. "But the main one was the introduction of the contracts, first of all. Also, the fact that we were so successful in Dubai (at the 2023 WXV3). "There's been so much growth with the team. The fact that we've beaten the world champions. We came second in Vancouver. Winning against New Zealand was a massive moment for the players. We finished third in the Six Nations. "We went to Vancouver as underdogs. Now we're definitely not underdogs. And we don't want to be underdogs." It was the pool stage win over New Zealand in 2014 - back in the heady days of the mid-2010s - that propelled Irish women's rugby into the limelight. That guaranteed a semi-final spot in what was then a 12-team tournament, with eventual champions England proving much too strong in the last-four. Back in the World Cup for the first time since the ill-fated home tournament of 2017, Ireland's opening games are against Japan and Spain at Franklin's Gardens before facing off against top seeds New Zealand in Brighton. Navigating the pool is the main priority at this stage. "We're trying not to get ahead of ourselves," says Djougang. "It's so important to get out of our pool. That's the most important thing for us. First up is Japan and we know what they can bring. "We don't want to think way ahead of ourselves because the World Cup is so unpredictable." Djougang has competition in the prop department from Ellena Perry, the former England forward having made her debut for Ireland against Canada last Saturday, after switching her allegience and waiting for the requisite five years. "She's settling in the squad well. She's a quick learner. We love having her, she's challenging us and we're challenging her. We're so happy to have her." Ireland v Japan, Franklin's Gardens, Northampton, Sunday, 24 August, 12pm Ireland v Spain, Franklin's Gardens, Northampton, Sunday, 31 August, 12pm Ireland v New Zealand, Brighton and Hove Albion Stadium, Brighton, Sunday, 7 September, 2.45pm.
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Linda Djougang: 'We're not going into this World Cup as underdogs'
The mindset that underpinned Irish sport and Irish sportspeople has changed. The underdog tag that this nation wore as a comfort zone on the biggest of stages has been cast to the side and the women's rugby team will be no different in the coming weeks. It's less than four years since the national team failed to make the last World Cup, defeat to Spain and Scotland in a qualifying tournament in Parma consigning them to the role of onlookers from afar when the tournament kicked off in New Zealand a year later. Go back just two years and Ireland finished bottom of the Six Nations, stuck with the wooden spoon, after losing all five matches. The curve has turned upwards since, though, and Linda Djougang isn't interested in playing down what it is can be achieved. 'We were the underdog going into Tier 1 in Vancouver in the WXV1 when we qualified for the Rugby World Cup after beating Scotland last year and we went to Vancouver,' said the veteran prop on Tuesday. 'A lot of people believed that. 'People saw that we were kind of worried going and playing against the likes of New Zealand, Canada and USA, top-tier teams, but we came second. No-one thought that [would happen]. People saw us then as underdogs but the fact [is] that we beat the world champions. 'In top-tier one we came from 10th in the world to fifth so we have lost that underdog title. We don't want to be underdogs. We want every team to know that. Respect us because we've shown what we are capable of. We definitely won't be going into this World Cup as underdogs.' Performances in recent years mean that Ireland will certainly be respected but the warm-up loss to a number-two ranked Canada in Belfast last Saturday was a reminder of the journey still to go before this squad reaches its full potential. Head coach Scott Bemand admitted last month that the team is further along in its development now than he had expected, a reference no doubt to the fact that the make-up of the collective is still relatively inexperienced. The days of teamsheets sprinkled with players yet to earn a double-digit figure of caps are gone but Ireland are still raw. Djougang, with 48 appearances, is far and away the most experienced player travelling to England later this month. This is something that people regularly say to her but she will respond by pointing out that the likes of Dannah O'Brien, Aoife Dalton and Niamh O'Dowd are players with the sort of mentality that can belie such statistics. 'Last year in Vancouver really opened our eyes, where we played the likes of New Zealand and were able to beat them. We had less caps then. Now we definitely have grown and gained even more experience. 'It just shows the players sometimes have to forget about the caps. It's more about our mindset and ability to focus on what's in front of us.' A theatre nurse who has taken a career break to focus on this World Cup shot, Djougang is one of 10 in the current squad who featured that day in Parma in 2021 when they fell short of Scotland and a place at the global gig. The change in the squad since has been seismic. Torrents of players have been ushered in as a steady stream of big-name and big-game players exited the building. Among those to move on since are Eimear Considine, Sene Naoupu, Lindsay Peat, Nichola Fryday, Ciara Griffin and Claire Molloy. All bar Fryday did at least retire having played at a previous World Cup and theirs is a legacy that Djougang is eager to build on now that the women's team has turned a corner and looks to ensure that the disaster that was 2021 never happens again. 'So we definitely want to go to the World Cup and perform to our best ability and leave the jersey in a better place,' she explained, 'so that the future generations don't have to go through the same thing.' As for those ten 'survivors', that torment does at least bring with an appreciation of the distance they have all travelled in the years since and Djougang can't help but think back even further when summing up what this all means. She was 21 and still a few years away from her Ireland debut when she watched Ireland and Wales fight for seventh place before England took on New Zealand in the 2017 World Cup final in Belfast and thought that this was the stage she wanted to grace. And now she's made it. 'It just makes it a little bit more extra special.'
RTÉ News
01-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
'Dorothy was part of that journey' - Linda Djougang 'gutted' by Dorothy Wall's World Cup heartache
Ireland prop Linda Djougang says she's "gutted" for her team-mate Dorothy Wall, who was ruled out of this summer's World Cup due to injury. Wall became the second high-profile Ireland player to be ruled out of the tournament in England, after suffering a torn achilles during Saturday's Guinness Women's Six Nations defeat to Scotland in Edinburgh. The versatile forward would have been a key player for Ireland in the World Cup, having featured in every game of the championship, scoring four tries. The 24-year-old had surgery on her torn achilles on Wednesday which will rule her out for several months, and she joins flanker Erin King on the sidelines for Ireland's World Cup campaign later this year. "It's so hard, especially such an important year for us to have two pivotal players going out through injuries, and missing out," Djougang told the RTÉ Rugby podcast this week. "I clearly remember on the pitch, it was beside me, and hearing your team-mate screaming that way, it's definitely not something you want to hear. "Dorothy has been having such a good tournament and she's probably my standout player. She's so good, she's our lineout leader and we had to adapt to that. "A World Cup comes every four years and it's something that we've been building on, something we've been dreaming of, and something we've been working hard to get." Djougang, the most experienced Test player in the Ireland squad with 46 caps, says those injuries make her even more grateful for the chance of playing in the World Cup later this summer. "When we didn't qualify a few years ago to go to New Zealand, Dorothy was part of that journey. For me, my heart just goes out to her. I know we spoke about representing our country at a World Cup, we spoke about that dream for us, I just feel so gutted for her. "It's been our goal, it's been her goal. She's been through all of it. She's that pivotal player for us, and she's definitely stepped up beyond even what we expect of her. She's going to be a great loss. "I think that it reminds us that this can be taken that quickly. "It's the sport we play, you can't go in thinking you don't want to get injured. You try to give everything for your country, like Dorothy and Erin have been doing. It's just unfortunate," the prop added. Djougang scored one of Ireland's tries in Saturday's 26-19 defeat to Scotland, among four in total for the powerful Leinster prop over the course of the championship. It saw an otherwise positive Six Nations campaign end on a sour note for Scott Bemand's side, but she believes Ireland will be a better team from their experience at the Hive last week. "It was definitely very disappointing, but we knew why it was disappointing. "I think that's something that we can definitely build on. We knew that we probably didn't execute our gameplan and that we didn't kick where we needed to kick. "Equally we didn't take our opportunities. We definitely are learning. This year's Six Nations has been going well for us, and had also been eye-opening for us, to what we can do and where we want to get to. We're quite lucky that we have another opportunity now in the summer to rectify those mistakes against Scotland. "We know what we're capable of and now, going into the summer, we have two games against Scotland and Canada and we definitely want to head to the World Cup with a good head on our shoulders," she added.
BBC News
26-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Scotland score at death to snatch win over Ireland
Women's Six NationsScotland (26) 12Tries: Skeldon, Orr, Malcolm, McGhie Cons: Nelson (3)Ireland (19) 7Tries: Costigan, Djougang, Lane Cons: O'Brien (2) Francesca McGhie's try at the death snatched a dramatic victory for Scotland over Ireland in the Women's Six Irish dominated the first half and struck first through a Amee-Leigh Costigan try, but scores from Lana Skeldon and Emma Orr sent Scotland in 12-7 up at Djougang and Emily Lane scored for Ireland either side of a Rachel McLachlan try for the hosts before McGhie's score in the final play sealed an extraordinary remain third in the table, while Scotland move up to fourth before Italy host Wales on dominant away victories against Italy and Wales, the Irish were looking to make it three from three on the road in this championship and they made the perfect Scuffil-McCabe spotted a gap in the Scottish fringe defence and turned on the burners to break free before finding Costigan to go over for a brilliant were struggling to get a foothold in the game but their lineout was functioning well and that was their route back into the match.A lineout on the Irish five metre line was won and, when the rolling maul rumbled over the line, it was hooker Skeldon left holding the ball after touching down for her 19th try in Scotland visitors came back strongly, banging at the Scotland try line. Only some heroic defence kept the Irish at bay, with Djougang held up twice over the line. Scotland were hanging on and it looked for all the world like Ireland would burst the dam until second-row Sarah Bonar pounced for an interception and kicked ahead to take the play into the Irish scrambled back but could not get the ball off the field in the final play of the half. The Scots showed great composure and engineered space for Orr to slalom through for a superb score and give the home side an unlikely five-point lead at the was not to be denied her try and ploughed over to level things up at 12-12, and Scotland's cause was hampered further when Rhona Lloyd was sent to the sin-bin for head-to-head contact with Costigan in the build-up to the some accuracy was lacking in their game, the Scots were doggedly staying in the game and when they got their chance of a rare foray into Irish territory, they took their chance ball was whipped wide to Chloe Rollie and she fended off a tackle before slipping a beautiful pass out the back door for McLachlan to dive over in the corner. In a match where they had been under the cosh for large spells, the home side now led were undeterred and continued to put pressure on Scotland, most notably at scrum home side were barely back to their full complement when they lost anpther player to a yellow card, this time Helen Nelson for an infringement at a ruck as the Scots became more desperate in their defence of their try pressure eventually told when substitute Lane dived over and O'Brien slotted over the conversion to make it all square was one final twist when McGhie went over in the corner to pull a victory out the fire at the end of a breathless contest.
BBC News
20-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ireland outclass winless Wales at Rodney Parade
Women's Six NationsWales (7) 14Tries: Cox, Bluck Cons: Bevan 2 Ireland (21) 40Tries: Djougang 2, Wafer 2, Wall 2 Cons: O'Brien 3, Breen 2 Wales were again outmuscled as Ireland ran in six tries to secure a second win of their Women's Six Nations hosts had taken an early lead through Carys Cox, but after that it was one-way traffic in the Newport Djougang, Aoife Wafer and Dorothy Wall each bagged two tries in a dominant performance which condemned Wales to a fourth Bluck, who had been a late call-up, scored a consolation for Wales, who played in front of 3,568 fans - a record crowd for a women's international at Rodney will play their final game against Scotland next weekend as they look to cement a third-place finish, while Wales must at least beat Italy if they are avoid a second consecutive wooden to follow. Line-ups Wales: Jasmine Joyce; Lisa Neumann, Hannah Jones (capt), Courtney Keight, Carys Cox; Lleucu George, Keira Bevan; Gwenllian Pyrs, Kelsey Jones, Jenni Scoble, Abbie Fleming, Georgia Evans, Kate Williams, Bethan Lewis, Alex Carys Phillips, Maisie Davies, Donna Rose, Natalia John, Alaw Pyrs, Sian Jones, Hannah Bluck, Catherine Stacey Flood; Anna McGann, Aoife Dalton, Enya Breen, Amee-Leigh; Dannah O'Brien, Molly Scuffil-McCabe; Siobhán McCarthy, Neve Jones, Linda Djougang, Ruth Campbell, Dorothy Wall, Brittany Hogan, Edel McMahon (capt), Aoife Cliodhna Moloney, Sadhbh McGrath, Christy Haney, Fiona Tuite, Claire Boles, Emily Lane, Eve Higgins, Vicky Elmes bin: O'Brien (36 mins)
