Ireland sevens star Louise Galvin has called time on her international sevens career, after earning 96 appearances for her country.
Having made her World Series debut in Dubai in 2015, Galvin went on to win 30 Sevens caps (receiving a cap for each tournament she played in), feature in 96 World Series games, score 22 tries and represent Ireland at the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco.
After realising that she is only four matches away from a century for Ireland, Galvin joked on IrishRugby.ie that she may come out of retirement for one last tournament.
“Ah, you shouldn’t have told me that, that could have been just one more tournament," Galvin said.
The last time Galvin donned the green jersey was in February in the Australian leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
Before COVID-19 put an end to the season early, it was expected that Galvin would have reached the milestone in the following tournament in Langford in Canada.
With the rest of the series cancelled due to the pandemic, the Kerry native had no major send off or big moment to end her career on.
It just felt right
She said that over the five months of lockdown, it made more sense to her to hang up her boots.
“There have been moments when I’ve thought am I ready to leave and move on, but as the weeks and months progressed it just made sense to use this break to step back and hang up the boots," Galvin said on IrishRugby.ie.
Galvin said that she has no real regrets, other than to have one final game for Ireland.
“I had a really good conversation with Anthony [Eddy, the IRFU Director of Women’s and Sevens Rugby] and I had no regrets,” Galvin said.
“Of course, I would have loved to play one final tournament or one final game in the green jersey but I’m happy with the time and effort I’ve given over the last five years.
"I don’t think I could have given much more, and I also feel it’s time to give youth a chance, and there are so many exciting young players coming into the programme."
As a physiotherapist, Galvin juggled training with caring for patients at Tullamore Hospital, working on the rehabilitation of patients coming out of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Helping hand in time of need
When the pandemic hit Ireland, Galvin used her training in medicine in aid of those who contracted the virus, and joined up with the Health Service Executive (HSE) in Dublin.
“You just have to appreciate that sport is unpredictable, and nobody could have foreseen a pandemic coming along.
"I also have that perspective of working in a hospital to see the devastating impact Covid-19 has had on families, so for it to ruin my end of career plan is so insignificant.”
Galvin is a multi-sport athlete who has represented Ireland not only in sevens and 15s rugby, but also on the basketball court as well as representing Kerry on the Gaelic football pitch.
She debuted on the Sevens Series on 2015, before making her 15s debut in the 2017 Rugby World Cup.
“I honestly did not know what to expect,” Galvin said.
“I could have been back home within a few months with my tail between my legs but when Anthony [Eddy] came in, he built a team around a core group of us.
"He gave us all the belief and motivation to get the best out of ourselves as players and as a group.
"I was leaving a real comfort zone, but the sevens programme was the only professional one in women’s sport in the country and I knew it was now or never for me to maximise my talent as an athlete.
“I honestly could not have enjoyed the journey any more, and I feel very privileged to have been in that position for so long.”
As a member of the Rugby Players Ireland Executive Board, and an athlete with a diverse sporting background, Galvin has always been a role model for girls in sport, leading by example by breaking through glass ceilings and advocating for change.
The future for Galvin
Galvin is already back playing club rugby with UL Bohs and last weekend helped Finuge/St Senans win a County Championship.
She said that she is excited by the prospect of watching Ireland step back out on the World Series and following the progress of some of the programme’s exciting young players.
“Players now are coming up through the underage Inter-Provincial system and it’s just so exciting to see them come into the programme,” Galvin said.
“They’re getting exposed to all the high performance elements from such an early age, things like strength and conditioning, nutrition and mindset resources and I can’t wait to see them perform on the World Series.
“It was a dream to be in that position myself but it was the right time to leave the green jersey for someone else, and hopefully I’ve left it in a better place for the years to come.”
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