Women In Sport: Joy Neville emphasises the many perks of being involved in sport

JOY Neville is a former Irish international rugby player. In retirement she became a referee and has now officiated at international level.

When did you start playing your sport?
Too young to remember! I idolized my 4 older brothers and plagued them every day to include me in whatever sport they were playing with their friends. I mostly won the argument and was included even though it wasn’t the cool thing to have their little sister involved.

Did you as a child have any sports women that you looked up to?
Sonia O’Sullivan – always loved watching her represent our country and do so well at whatever games she was participating in. Thankfully, we have a lot more sports women who are doing so well in representing their counties and country and who are being recognised for their efforts. I think it is imperative that we continue to identify, support and celebrate our young female athletes. It is so important for young people to have a role model that can prove that you can achieve whatever you put your mind to once you put in the hard work #CantSeeCantBe

What does your game day routine look like?
Get up, have breakfast, have the TO4 (Team of 4) chat with the assistant referees and TMO. Depending on the time of kick-off, go back to bed for a nap, go for a walk with the team and grab a coffee or go back, collect your bag and hit the stadium. All the work/preparation has been done up to that point. Just down to kick-off and put in the performance.

What has been your most memorable moment in your sport?
Winning the Grand Slam in 2013 – will never forget that moment/day. We had worked so hard to get to that point. So many knocks throughout the years which built our resilience collectively to demand more and strive to be better which lead to that moment. I am a true believer that every cloud has a silver lining!

What is the best advice a coach has given you?
Have no regrets – whatever you try to achieve in life, put your best effort in place, prepare to the maximum and leave no stones unturned. And, if things do not work out, at least you can walk away a proud person with no regrets because you did everything in your power to achieve that goal.

Where would you like to see women in sports in 10 years time?
More publicity, more equality across the board and more support for women’s sports. I love what the 20x20 campaign achieved. It brought more attention to women’s sports. It highlighted the importance of us as society getting behind our mothers, sisters, aunties and daughters. No more room for talking the talk but more action in walking the walk.

What is an important lesson you have learned in your sport?
Things will not always work out, we may not always win, achieve, have luck on our side but instead we will fall, experience loss, not perform.
It is only by being reflective that we can learn from the tough experiences. Learn from our mistakes by understanding the ‘WHY’, what could I have done different, WHY didn’t I get to the breakdown earlier, how could I have arrived faster? Asking all the questions in order to heighten the growth, development and learning which in return may minimise the same mistakes from taking place again and again.

What advice would you offer to any females looking to start sports?
DO IT!! There are just so many perks of being involved in a team sport and taking part in sport. It is a wonderful social outlet, helps increase fitness and definitely aids with our mental health but most importantly, sport teaches us how to deal with the tough times, learn from the experiences, grow friendships and provides us with wonderful tools that can be transferred into our personal lives. I would not be the person I am to this day if I had not got involved in sport, but particularly rugby. I have made lifelong friendships, learned the biggest life lessons and being provided with such wonderful opportunities because of the game of Rugby.