IRELAND SCRUM-HALF Kathryn Dane is “doing well” after suffering a brain haemorrhage while attending training recently.
Dane revealed the news of her health scare on social media in February, saying that the IRFU medical team were able to quickly assist her and that she is hoping to make a full recovery.
The Ulster and Old Belvedere player has represented her country 29 times and will certainly be a loss for McWilliams’s outfit during their Six Nations campaign. They will travel to Cardiff for their championship opener against Wales on Saturday.
“She’s doing really well,” McWilliams told the media after the Ireland team for that Round 1 tie was announced. McWilliams went on to explain that Dane was being treated for an ACL injury when her brain haemorrhage occurred.
“Kathryn tore her ACL before going to Japan and she came in to the HPC, and she was being seen by the S&C coach and by the medical team, and that’s where we had the episode. You never want to see that in any form of life, but between her parents, the staff and Gillian [McDarby], and Kathryn, it’s about making sure first and foremost that she’s in a good position, forgetting about rugby.
“Kathryn is a very smart person and I’m in touch with her quite a lot about what she can bring to the group now.
“She wouldn’t have been involved in the Six Nations anyway so it’s about re-integrating her into the programme. It’s about making sure the medical team have their return to play [protocols] and it’s always about the person first. At the end of the day, we chase a ball full of air around the field, but rugby is just the engine for what we can create in life.
“We have one of our family who isn’t in a good spot. It was a scare, there’s no doubt and we’re there to support her. She’s an incredible character and I miss having her around.
“We’re hoping to get her back for WXV, whether it’s Tier 1, Tier 2.”
Ireland will go into the Welsh without some important players due to commitments with the Sevens team who are aiming for Olympic qualification. Among the bunch are players like Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Stacey Flood, Eve Higgins, Lucy Mulhall and Beibhinn Parsons.
When asked if those players would not be used during the Six Nations, McWilliams replied:
“I’m not saying that.
“We’ve had open discussions about this and they’re preparing for Hong Kong next week. We want them to go to an Olympic Games and we want them to be competitive, and win an Olympic medal. We also want to win a Six Nations championship, and compete at the top end of World Cups.
“The best way to do that is to improve our depth of players. By us not having those players who played for us last year, gives us an opportunity to give people the chance to be in the arena and see how they cope.
“There’s going to be crossover and cross-pollination in terms of our skill understanding. The more we can bind together, the better we’re going to be.
“I’m looking at selection for a world cup in 2025 if we can qualify. I’m also looking at 2029 and the squad that’s going to be there. You’ve got to have a long game, medium game and a short-term game, and hope you get the balance right.”
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