IT’S A SUNNY evening in late June 2007, and the streets around the University of Limerick are lined with people.
The Gaynor Cup is due to get underway, an annual soccer tournament for Under-16 and Under-18 girls.
With the nearby accommodation emptied, one player has the attention of the campus.
‘Woooaaaah!’
Someone from the U18 Dublin team is demonstrating her throw-in.
While the young player has everyone — mainly kids, but adults alike — in the palm of her hand, whispers start circulating.
‘I know her name!’
‘That’s Megan Campbell.’
‘I think she plays for Raheny…’
The oohs and aahs continue with every effort longer than the last.
Campbell would go on to star at the tournament alongside other future internationals like Claire Walsh and Siobhan Killeen, but the Dublin U18s fell short to a Connacht team with some familiar names of their own. Emma Hansberry is Sligo Rovers’ captain now, while Aileen Gilroy is starring in the AFLW.
Denise O’Sullivan, Rianna Jarrett and Ciara Grant were others who impressed in the U18 competition, while a certain Clare Shine fired South Munster to U16 glory.
Katie McCabe was Dublin’s number nine, while Chloe Mustaki, Sarah Rowe and Ciara Rossiter were among other recognisable names at that age grade.
This writer represented the North Leinster U16s, but amidst a weekend of heavy defeats, the first sight of Megan Campbell’s outrageous throw-in is among the more pleasant memories.
The same feeling of awe remains to this day, with the Ireland and London City Lionesses defender in line to win her 50th cap in the upcoming Euro 2025 qualifier double-header against Sweden.
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Campbell reckons she first realised she had the long throw in her locker when she was 12-years-old at the Boyne Rovers club in Drogheda.
“I was playing with boys at the time because there were no girls’ teams at my age group,” she told Thomas Gronnemark, the specialist throw-in coach who was employed by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, in an interview last year.
“I just threw the ball and it was further than the boys and they said, ‘You can do that again, you can do the next one!’
“I think gradually, that was the realisation this was longer than a normal person’s throw-in and as I’ve grown up, they’ve just got longer.”
Megan Campbell has an Amazing Long Throw-in 💪⚽️🎯☄️🔥
— Thomas Gronnemark (@ThomasThrowin) April 10, 2024
I had the pleasure to make a video together with her… to challenge here and measure her Loooooong Throw-in 👀
What an athlete… and a even nicer person.
Take a look here:https://t.co/NAteoDP5ZG
pic.twitter.com/ZmC4tml6FG
Campbell’s arms are hyper-mobile and can go further back than the average person.
She didn’t put much extra work into throw-ins until she moved to Florida State University on a soccer scholarship in 2013, where upper-body training became part of her schedule.
Throwing medicine balls was one mechanism which helped lengthen her already-impressive efforts, but it wasn’t completely necessary.
“Overall I’ve not focused too much time on training it, it’s just a natural ability which I’m very fortunate to have right now,” Campbell told RTÉ 2FM’s Game On this week.
“Probably not when I’m about 50 and I can’t walk!
“But for now it’s all good.”
Thankfully, the 30-year-old has kept the weapon in her armoury through significant injury struggles.
Every time the throw is unleashed, gasps of amazement follow from those unfamiliar.
In Ireland’s historic World Cup play-off win over Scotland at Hampden Park, Campbell launched the ball directly into the back of the net.
Another Megan Campbell throw causes havoc in the Scottish defence - the ball is in the net, but it won't count
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 11, 2022
📺 Watch live - https://t.co/aR8cFzAlWf
📻 Listen live - https://t.co/JMjvghCiJa
📱 Updates - https://t.co/mwmAKKQyjN #rtesoccer #SCOIRL pic.twitter.com/FOiuR6s9om
It almost always causes havoc in the box, including in last month’s Euro 2025 qualifier defeat to England at the Aviva Stadium.
ITV measured one offering from the second-half substitute at 38 metres, with former Lioness Karen Carney left starstruck on punditry duty.
“I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it from Megan Campbell,” the ex-Chelsea and Arsenal star said. “It’s unbelievable and it caused problems.
“At Chelsea, we got this machine in to replicate it because we couldn’t throw it and practice in the same way. Nobody could do what she does.
“It put England on the back foot, it caused [goalkeeper] Hannah Hampton to come out and make decisions and put her under pressure. I don’t think we dealt with it and the momentum was building from these long throws.”
It’s a major asset for Ireland, but Campbell’s injury woes haven’t always allowed her to reach her full potential. The former Manchester City star has had a myriad of significant knee and ankle injuries, pegged back time and time again.
She should have a hell of a lot more than 49 international caps, while she cruelly missed out on Ireland’s first-ever World Cup last summer.
Campbell follows a modified training programme and doesn’t fully train in camp; her load and minutes are monitored and managed by Eileen Gleeson and the rest of the staff.
The Irish manager spoke to that, and the long throw, after the England loss.
“They cause chaos every game. It’s a weapon and of course we want to use it. We have to be able to get her to stay on as much as possible.
“Obviously she has an impact when she comes on so we have to make sure she can stay fresh for the amount of time that we put her on for.”
That same night, Campbell was dubbed ‘Rory Delass’ — a nod to another long-throw specialist — on social media, while England manager Sarina Wiegman admitted the sideline bombs were “spectacular”.
Katie McCabe and Kyra Carusa were among the Irish players to pay tribute, with both acknowledging that the long throw-in allows the team to get up the pitch more directly.
It brings more balance, in a way, and Campbell’s presence allows McCabe to play in a higher role on the left.
“We know the threats we pose from set pieces — it’s getting the corners and throw ins in. You saw Megan’s impact,” the captain said.
“That throw is ridiculous,” a typically animated Carusa added. “I even think back to the Scotland game, qualifying for the World Cup and she threw it into the goal.
“That throw is deadly for us and it is something that nobody else in this group has and they definitely fear and they sit back and go, ‘Oh, what are we going to do here?’
“It is about the unexpected and not knowing what is going to happen. But we do and we have to use that to our advantage.”
There’s a lot more to Megan Campbell’s game than the long throw-in, but it is certainly a major asset — and will undoubtedly be unleashed on her imminent 50th cap.
