Sam Monaghan
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Samantha Monaghan (born 25 June 1993), is an American-born Irish rugby union player who plays second row for Gloucester-Hartpury in Premiership Women's Rugby, as well as the Ireland national team.
| Date of birth | 25 June 1993 (age 31) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | New York City, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 89 kg (196 lb; 14 st 0 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
Monaghan was born in New York City, United States, to Irish parents. She moved to Ireland at the age of 8.[1] In her youth, she first played Gaelic football and was Irish Under-16 champion with the County Meath team.[2]
Rugby career
She later moved to England, near Brighton. She could not find a Gaelic football club there so she tried rugby union at Lewes RFC mainly to make friends and socialize. At the end of her first season, her coaches advised her to take rugby union more seriously.[3] The following season, her coaches got her in touch with Wasps Women director of rugby Giselle Mather who offered her a trial, Monaghan then went on to sign for Wasps.[3][4]
In September 2021, she earned her first cap for Ireland in a World Cup qualifying game against Spain.[3] After a stand out 2022 Six Nations performance, Monaghan signed for Gloucester-Hartpury ahead of the 2022–23 Premier 15s season.[5] In her first season at Gloucester-Hartpury, she helped lift the league title,[6] was named Irish Player of the year,[7] and signed a contract extension with Gloucester-Hartpury.[8]
In October 2023, Monaghan was selected for the first WXV 3 tournament, she was co-captain of the team alongside Edel McMahon.[2] Ireland went on to lift the title.[9]
In January 2024, she fainted in the changing room following a winning match against Saracens, the medical staff diagnosed a concussion that had not been spotted during the game. She then went two months without playing, which she described as very difficult.[10] She also lifted the league title for the second year In a row, however during the final she suffered a serious knee injury which meant she could not take park in the 2024 WXV.[11][12]
References
- ^ Geoghegan, Jimmy (12 May 2023). "'I never thought I would play rugby for Ireland'". Meath Chronicle. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ a b Geoghegan, Jimmy (2 October 2023). "Captaincy a new twist in Sam Monaghan's amazing career". Meath Chronicle. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ a b c Walsh, Daire (16 September 2021). "Monaghan: Hard Pill To Swallow, But We'll Come Back Stronger". Irish Rugby. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ Glennon, Michael (16 September 2021). "Meath's Sam Monaghan on her unlikely road to Test rugby". Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ Casey, Gavan (26 July 2022). "Six Nations star Sam Monaghan swaps Wasps for Gloucester-Hartpury". The 42. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ "Gloucester-Hartpury win first Premier 15s title with victory over Exeter". The Guardian. 24 June 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ Scully, Michael (18 May 2022). "Josh van der Flier and Sam Monaghan claim Rugby Players Ireland top awards". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ "Sam Monaghan and Gwen Crabb: Gloucester-Hartpury locks sign new deals". BBC Sport. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ "Ireland edge Spain to win WXV 3 title | Women in Rugby | women.rugby". women.rugby. 28 October 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ "Concussion put me in a dark place, reveals Ireland co-captain Sam Monaghan". Belfast Telegraph. 31 March 2024. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ Thomas, Martyn (1 July 2024). "Ireland co-captain Sam Monaghan ruled out with 'significant knee injury'". rugbypass. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ Treacy, Neil (29 August 2024). "Monaghan ruled out of WXV but Sevens stars return". RTE. Retrieved 5 October 2024.