NANCY MCGILLIVRAY’S IRELAND journey has been a slow burn. Born in London, she grew up in Hong Kong and, until recently, was on an England development contract.
Given she has now earned a pair of Ireland caps since moving out of England contention, the new Irish centre can be labelled a success of the IQ Rugby programme. Sometimes the system identifies talent without immediately being able to get them into a green shirt. Patience is a virtue exercised by the IRFU staff tasked with finding qualified talent in England.
McGillivray attended a talent ID day organised by Steven McGinnis, one of said staff, back in 2021. She has been monitored ever since, although the player herself doesn’t remember tearing up any trees.
“I actually rolled my ankle in that session,” she recalls. “I didn’t even do the whole thing! Steve always checked in throughout the year for the past few years.”
At that point, McGillivray was studying at Exeter University. She was quickly snapped up by the Chiefs in Premiership Women’s Rugby. She came to the UK having been born in London to a Thai mother and Irish father, only to move to Hong Kong as a child.
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Once in the Premiership system, an England contract came. Ireland kept in touch. The long game played off, Scott Bemand calling McGillivray into camp once that England deal expired in June.
McGillivray isn’t the only example of IQ Rugby waiting in the long grass. Daniel Green played for Ireland U20s this year and has just joined the Ulster academy. He has been in contact with the IRFU for some time, including during a stint with England U18s.
As for McGillivray, aged 22, she is both a player for now and the future. Two caps have been won, during the World Cup warm-ups and off the bench against Spain last weekend. She is in contention for another bench spot against the Black Ferns on Sunday.
“At the end of the day with rugby, my reason why is family, culture,” says McGillivray. “I am half-Irish, I was just born in England. That’s a big factor to why I want to come into the Ireland squad.
“Scott knew me from England. I’ve had conversations with him before so it wasn’t too different speaking to him. He has a big belief in this squad and the way he spoke about it, it was something I wanted to be a part of, to grow with this team.
“It [the Ireland move] was gradual throughout the summer. I had lots of conversations, figuring out what was best for me. Me and Scott talked quite a bit, I was very transparent with England and what I wanted.”
McGillivray has just signed a two-year contract with Exeter. She’s also going back to university to do a masters in physiotherapy. There is a template of continuing playing in England while lining out as an Irish international. McGillivray’s Exeter team-mates include Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald, Edel McMahon and Dorothy Wall.
“All three were great sounding boards,” she says. “They told me what Ireland was about, what this team was about.
“Every conversation I had made me want to move more.”
Celebrating an Anna McGann try in last weekend's win over Spain. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
It remains to be seen if those chats included instructions to learn the lyrics to Kingfshr’s ‘Killeagh’ or any song by the Cranberries, numbers that have been belted out in the Irish changing room after the pair of recent World Cup victories.
The latter, over Spain, was McGillivray’s World Cup debut. “I was very excited to be out there, it was only my second cap and to be in the World Cup already, it’s an unreal experience,” she says.
“I couldn’t ask for anything better. I got a good 20 minutes against Spain who are a very good team, I’m very grateful to be out there with the team and getting an opportunity to play.”
Of all the positions Ireland could have strengthened in the build-up to this World Cup, centre was arguably the best stocked. Eve Higgins and Aoife Dalton form a settled pairing. Both have impressed over the last fortnight. Enya Breen provides good quality depth at both 10 and 12. In the short term, McGillivray’s main competition is Dalton as both aim for that 13 shirt.
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“I am probably a different player to Aoife Dalton, we both play quite differently,” says McGillivray. “For me a bit part of my game is offload and my attacking style of play.
“Enya, Eve, Dalts, I thought all four of us are great, we all work well together. I learn off them the whole time. They’ve been in the programme a lot longer than I have so I’m just trying to learn each week and understand how they play so I can benefit the team in any way possible.”
McGillivray’s quick elevation from outside the group to training camp to World Cup squad to the match day 23 is a reflection of the esteem Bemand holds her in. How much time she gets to back up such confidence remains to be seen. That faith, though, suggests we’ll see plenty of her in green beyond this tournament.
“I don’t know what the future holds,” says McGillivray. “Me and Scott haven’t had those conversations but I know I want to play for Ireland.”
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'My reason why is family': From England contract to Ireland World Cup debut, via Hong Kong
NANCY MCGILLIVRAY’S IRELAND journey has been a slow burn. Born in London, she grew up in Hong Kong and, until recently, was on an England development contract.
Given she has now earned a pair of Ireland caps since moving out of England contention, the new Irish centre can be labelled a success of the IQ Rugby programme. Sometimes the system identifies talent without immediately being able to get them into a green shirt. Patience is a virtue exercised by the IRFU staff tasked with finding qualified talent in England.
McGillivray attended a talent ID day organised by Steven McGinnis, one of said staff, back in 2021. She has been monitored ever since, although the player herself doesn’t remember tearing up any trees.
“I actually rolled my ankle in that session,” she recalls. “I didn’t even do the whole thing! Steve always checked in throughout the year for the past few years.”
At that point, McGillivray was studying at Exeter University. She was quickly snapped up by the Chiefs in Premiership Women’s Rugby. She came to the UK having been born in London to a Thai mother and Irish father, only to move to Hong Kong as a child.
Once in the Premiership system, an England contract came. Ireland kept in touch. The long game played off, Scott Bemand calling McGillivray into camp once that England deal expired in June.
McGillivray isn’t the only example of IQ Rugby waiting in the long grass. Daniel Green played for Ireland U20s this year and has just joined the Ulster academy. He has been in contact with the IRFU for some time, including during a stint with England U18s.
As for McGillivray, aged 22, she is both a player for now and the future. Two caps have been won, during the World Cup warm-ups and off the bench against Spain last weekend. She is in contention for another bench spot against the Black Ferns on Sunday.
“At the end of the day with rugby, my reason why is family, culture,” says McGillivray. “I am half-Irish, I was just born in England. That’s a big factor to why I want to come into the Ireland squad.
“Scott knew me from England. I’ve had conversations with him before so it wasn’t too different speaking to him. He has a big belief in this squad and the way he spoke about it, it was something I wanted to be a part of, to grow with this team.
“It [the Ireland move] was gradual throughout the summer. I had lots of conversations, figuring out what was best for me. Me and Scott talked quite a bit, I was very transparent with England and what I wanted.”
McGillivray has just signed a two-year contract with Exeter. She’s also going back to university to do a masters in physiotherapy. There is a template of continuing playing in England while lining out as an Irish international. McGillivray’s Exeter team-mates include Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald, Edel McMahon and Dorothy Wall.
“All three were great sounding boards,” she says. “They told me what Ireland was about, what this team was about.
“Every conversation I had made me want to move more.”
It remains to be seen if those chats included instructions to learn the lyrics to Kingfshr’s ‘Killeagh’ or any song by the Cranberries, numbers that have been belted out in the Irish changing room after the pair of recent World Cup victories.
The latter, over Spain, was McGillivray’s World Cup debut. “I was very excited to be out there, it was only my second cap and to be in the World Cup already, it’s an unreal experience,” she says.
“I couldn’t ask for anything better. I got a good 20 minutes against Spain who are a very good team, I’m very grateful to be out there with the team and getting an opportunity to play.”
Of all the positions Ireland could have strengthened in the build-up to this World Cup, centre was arguably the best stocked. Eve Higgins and Aoife Dalton form a settled pairing. Both have impressed over the last fortnight. Enya Breen provides good quality depth at both 10 and 12. In the short term, McGillivray’s main competition is Dalton as both aim for that 13 shirt.
“I am probably a different player to Aoife Dalton, we both play quite differently,” says McGillivray. “For me a bit part of my game is offload and my attacking style of play.
“Enya, Eve, Dalts, I thought all four of us are great, we all work well together. I learn off them the whole time. They’ve been in the programme a lot longer than I have so I’m just trying to learn each week and understand how they play so I can benefit the team in any way possible.”
McGillivray’s quick elevation from outside the group to training camp to World Cup squad to the match day 23 is a reflection of the esteem Bemand holds her in. How much time she gets to back up such confidence remains to be seen. That faith, though, suggests we’ll see plenty of her in green beyond this tournament.
“I don’t know what the future holds,” says McGillivray. “Me and Scott haven’t had those conversations but I know I want to play for Ireland.”
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Feature Interview IQ Rugby Ireland Nancy McGillivray