Louise Galvin highlighted the personal toll a rescheduled World Cup will take on Ireland's amateur rugby players when she joined Wednesday's OTB AM.
Following news that the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand has been pushed back one year, Louise Galvin admitted that she is "absolutely devastated" for the Irish players who have been plunged into uncertainty.
Due to play Spain in a de facto qualification semi-final on March 13th, should Ireland win they would then face one of either Scotland or Italy to earn a pool place in the World Cup.
With the tournament possibly 18 months or so away, however, Galvin highlighted the impact that this move could have on the lives of Ireland's amateur players.
"The girls have been training away ferociously," she remarked of the team's preparation for the crucial qualifier with Spain, "they've been doing camps Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays up in the National Sports Campus for months on end doing their bit.
"The rug has been pulled out from underneath them so this is absolutely devastating."
Further disappointment at the end of a difficult year for women's rugby in Ireland, the team's hopes of a Six Nations campaign in 2021 were similarly dashed when that competition was postponed earlier this year.
After recently discussing her decision to return to Gaelic football with Kerry on OTB AM, Louise Galvin has represented both Ireland's rugby union and Sevens teams at World Cup level.
"We're talking about amateurs here who are making career decisions based around this tournament," she outlined, "even insofar as we're talking about women here, some of them are probably making child-bearing decisions around tournaments.
"To think that that has all been pushed back a year is all so devastating."
Alongside the dedication required of players on the field of play, Galvin explained the off-field stresses that will emerge now as individuals try to ensure their availability for the uncertain future.
"There's a lot more than rugby decisions that are made around a World Cup which happens every four years," she commented.
"At the very least, I hope that with the massive amount of preparation gone in by Adam Griggs and his squad that they get to play Six Nations game in April."
You can watch Louise Galvin discuss Ireland's recent defeat of Italy in the Six Nations last weekend on Wednesday's OTB AM right here
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