IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS captain Lucy Mulhall Rock has confirmed that the Olympic games marks the end of her sevens rugby career, following 10 years with the team.
Mulhall Rock is retiring after captaining the Ireland women on their Olympic debut in Paris. The 30-year-old’s tournament was cut short by a knee injury in the second pool match against South Africa.
It was an injury-disrupted 2024 for the Tinahely woman, but she fought back from a hamstring injury, and a subsequent reinjury, to captain her country on the Olympic stage, just six months after leading them to a HSBC SVNS series title win in Perth.
Posting on Instagram following Ireland’s eighth place finish, Mulhall Rock said: “Sin a bhfuil. It’s been the honour of my life to play for and captain the Ireland Women’s Sevens team for the past 10 years, but now it’s time for me to step aside and watch my amazing teammates and friends take this team forward and on to bigger and better things.”
An email from Stan McDowell, then-Irfu sevens development coach, started Muhall Rock on her sevens journey back in 2014.
He invited her for a trial, knowing the skills and physical attributes she possessed as a 2011 All-Ireland Junior Football Championship winner with Wicklow.
By the following year, Mulhall Rock was appointed Ireland sevens captain, and selected as the IRUPA Women’s Sevens Player of the Year.
“I fell head over heels in love with Sevens since it first came into my life in 2014,” Mulhall Rock said.
“It’s taught me so much over these years, about failure and how to bounce back from it, about humility and the importance of it, about winning and how it doesn’t fulfill us.
“About resilience, empathy, kindness, hard work, commitment, pride, heart, but more than any of this it’s taught me that life’s all about who we spend it with, how we make them feel, how we lift them up and how we leave a mark on people’s lives that lasts long after we leave the room.”
Mulhall Rock scored 812 points in 213 HSBC SVNS Series matches, including 49 tries.
She is the ninth top points scorer in World Series history, and has split the posts 283 times – the third most of all-time.
A wonderful career Lucy. Thanks for the memories and your reflection at the end, which would make a great teaching for every young person. Blessings on the rest of your life and Family.
Legend. Tough and classy, a real competitor.
An awesome rugby player.. Skill, intelligence and determination.
She deserved more for her work.
Fair dues to Lucy. So many of us say we’ve learned so much in or with something. This might be the first time I’ve ever seen or heard of someone actually listing many of those ‘learnings’. So, well done to her for that.
And agreed, she deserved more and a much better finish to her rugby sevens career than getting injured and having tonsit out the last few.matches on the Olympic stage
Well crafted and thoughtful adieu