SARAH ROWE WOKE up suddenly in the middle of the night and immediately checked her phone.
It was 2.20am where she was in Australia. Almost instantly, she got a text message from her father Alan.
‘Mayo win!’
Rowe had fallen asleep at half-time of the All-Ireland final, uncertain of her county’s chances and conscious that she had training early the following morning – along with a big week ahead as Ireland face Australia in an historic AFLW clash on Saturday.
“For some reason I just woke up literally a minute after the game had ended, and I was like, ‘Oh my God!” she tells The 42.
“My body clock obviously told me to wake up and go, ‘Mayo have won. Something’s gone on here, and you’ve missed it.’ I was literally awake half the night then, absolutely wired to the moon, looking at all the videos, being like, ‘I cannot believe this!’ The significance is just incredible.
“My mind just went to so many different places. All the people over the years that have put time and effort into that team, all the players that have gone before, all the coaches that have gone before, and then the players that are there now, and the ones who’ve got to be there the whole time.
“I probably thought back again as far as my granddad (Paddy Jordan) and his era in 1951. I thought about him. I thought about the curse and everything. I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is just the most incredible story.’ Probably the best thing to happen in Irish sport in forever, in my head.
“It’s sad not to be there, but it’s still really heartwarming watching from afar. That’s the nice thing about social media, it can capture all these moments when you’re not even there.”
Of course, Rowe wishes she was at home for it all, but she’s well-used to missing significant events due to her own sporting career. Such is the sacrifice needed to play AFLW, Gaelic football and soccer at the highest level on both sides of the world.
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Rowe after Mayo's loss in the 2017 All-Ireland ladies football final. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
A unique fixture awaits on Saturday: she is part of the Ireland squad gearing up to play Australia in a blockbuster one-off AFLW game in Sydney.
Former Tipperary star Colin O’Riordan will lead a 25-player squad into battle ahead of the new season as club rivalries are parked, and national pride takes precedence.
“It’s such a special occasion,” says Rowe. “That’s what we’re so excited about. Yes, this is a significant event, and the first time done in history, and a privilege to be a part of it. But I think it’s just that feeling of knowing that we have that touch of home and that we can play together again as the Irish.
“Something we do miss is the culture of the changing room in Ireland, and essentially how much everyone takes the piss out of each other. I think our love language is abuse! I just can’t wait for that. I can’t wait for the camaraderie that it brings, just being a part of an Irish team. We’re just so proud to play together.”
A return to their roots. The connections run deep.
Rowe is one of four Mayo players involved – alongside Niamh Kelly, Dayna Finn and Rachel Kearns (Grace Kelly has withdrawn through injury) – while other teammates and opponents from her Gaelic football career spring to mind.
Aishling Moloney from their DCU days; Aisling McCarthy a close friend and club mate of Moloney’s in Tipperary but a firm foe in college’s action with University of Limerick.
“It just shows the systems in Ireland,” says Rowe, with 46 players from these shores currently on AFLW lists. “I feel like none of us would be here without that. I think we all will reflect on that a lot this week, just appreciating where we’ve come from.”
With the 2026 AFLW season getting underway on Sunday week, 9 August, club pre-season has been the priority. Ireland will only train together at the captain’s run on Friday, after linking up on Thursday. One Zoom call is complete, more meetings will follow, but the build-up is low-key.
“I think that’s the most difficult part because as players, you want to dot your I’s and cross your T’s with preparation. Tactically and technically and all that stuff,” the Collingwood ace continues.
“But what we will lean on is the passion and the heart that Irish people have. At the end of the day, anything can happen on days like this. We know that we will have that fighting Irish spirit because it’s embedded in us. We want to go out and win the game as well, so that’s our attitude going into it, regardless of the fact of the lack of preparation.”
“We’re happy enough to be the underdogs, and we love being in that position,” she adds, stressing all the pressure is on Australia as they play their own game.
“We’ve been quoting all the things that they’ve been saying all week: ‘Why are you taking it so seriously? It’s only an exhibition game.’ We’re saying, ‘We take everything seriously, particularly when we wear the green.’ We are just very riled up, I would say, about it, and just determined. We want to go out there and give it our absolute all. It does feel like there’s fire in our belly with this one.”
And huge support on their back, Rowe feels, with the 16,000-capacity North Sydney Oval sold out for the fixture. “I reckon 15,900 will be Irish!”
Regardless of what happens on Saturday, it’s then onto a 10th AFLW season for Rowe, who first signed for Collingwood as a 23-year-old in 2018.
She had already lived a colourful sporting life, and has had many chapters since – including winning an A-League Women’s soccer title with Central Coast Mariners in her AFLW off-season last year – but Rowe is fully committed to the oval ball for now.
“It’s hard to believe that I’ve been out here for 10 years now. This is the last year of my contract with Collingwood, so I suppose we’ll reassess from here, but it’s just incredible.
“The one thing I said to myself this year is embrace this season and try not to think too far ahead, because I’m always plotting and planning in this head of mine!
“Maybe I’ll just chill out and just actually just go game by game, and not worry about what the next thing is that I’m going to do. Stay in the moment. For this weekend I’ll stay in the present of Ireland versus Australia, and then we’ll move on from there.”
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'It's such a special occasion' - Mayo's Sarah Rowe relishing Ireland v Australia AFLW clash
SARAH ROWE WOKE up suddenly in the middle of the night and immediately checked her phone.
It was 2.20am where she was in Australia. Almost instantly, she got a text message from her father Alan.
‘Mayo win!’
Rowe had fallen asleep at half-time of the All-Ireland final, uncertain of her county’s chances and conscious that she had training early the following morning – along with a big week ahead as Ireland face Australia in an historic AFLW clash on Saturday.
“For some reason I just woke up literally a minute after the game had ended, and I was like, ‘Oh my God!” she tells The 42.
“My body clock obviously told me to wake up and go, ‘Mayo have won. Something’s gone on here, and you’ve missed it.’ I was literally awake half the night then, absolutely wired to the moon, looking at all the videos, being like, ‘I cannot believe this!’ The significance is just incredible.
“My mind just went to so many different places. All the people over the years that have put time and effort into that team, all the players that have gone before, all the coaches that have gone before, and then the players that are there now, and the ones who’ve got to be there the whole time.
“I probably thought back again as far as my granddad (Paddy Jordan) and his era in 1951. I thought about him. I thought about the curse and everything. I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is just the most incredible story.’ Probably the best thing to happen in Irish sport in forever, in my head.
“It’s sad not to be there, but it’s still really heartwarming watching from afar. That’s the nice thing about social media, it can capture all these moments when you’re not even there.”
Of course, Rowe wishes she was at home for it all, but she’s well-used to missing significant events due to her own sporting career. Such is the sacrifice needed to play AFLW, Gaelic football and soccer at the highest level on both sides of the world.
A unique fixture awaits on Saturday: she is part of the Ireland squad gearing up to play Australia in a blockbuster one-off AFLW game in Sydney.
Former Tipperary star Colin O’Riordan will lead a 25-player squad into battle ahead of the new season as club rivalries are parked, and national pride takes precedence.
“It’s such a special occasion,” says Rowe. “That’s what we’re so excited about. Yes, this is a significant event, and the first time done in history, and a privilege to be a part of it. But I think it’s just that feeling of knowing that we have that touch of home and that we can play together again as the Irish.
“Something we do miss is the culture of the changing room in Ireland, and essentially how much everyone takes the piss out of each other. I think our love language is abuse! I just can’t wait for that. I can’t wait for the camaraderie that it brings, just being a part of an Irish team. We’re just so proud to play together.”
A return to their roots. The connections run deep.
Rowe is one of four Mayo players involved – alongside Niamh Kelly, Dayna Finn and Rachel Kearns (Grace Kelly has withdrawn through injury) – while other teammates and opponents from her Gaelic football career spring to mind.
Aishling Moloney from their DCU days; Aisling McCarthy a close friend and club mate of Moloney’s in Tipperary but a firm foe in college’s action with University of Limerick.
“It just shows the systems in Ireland,” says Rowe, with 46 players from these shores currently on AFLW lists. “I feel like none of us would be here without that. I think we all will reflect on that a lot this week, just appreciating where we’ve come from.”
With the 2026 AFLW season getting underway on Sunday week, 9 August, club pre-season has been the priority. Ireland will only train together at the captain’s run on Friday, after linking up on Thursday. One Zoom call is complete, more meetings will follow, but the build-up is low-key.
“I think that’s the most difficult part because as players, you want to dot your I’s and cross your T’s with preparation. Tactically and technically and all that stuff,” the Collingwood ace continues.
“But what we will lean on is the passion and the heart that Irish people have. At the end of the day, anything can happen on days like this. We know that we will have that fighting Irish spirit because it’s embedded in us. We want to go out and win the game as well, so that’s our attitude going into it, regardless of the fact of the lack of preparation.”
“We’re happy enough to be the underdogs, and we love being in that position,” she adds, stressing all the pressure is on Australia as they play their own game.
“We’ve been quoting all the things that they’ve been saying all week: ‘Why are you taking it so seriously? It’s only an exhibition game.’ We’re saying, ‘We take everything seriously, particularly when we wear the green.’ We are just very riled up, I would say, about it, and just determined. We want to go out there and give it our absolute all. It does feel like there’s fire in our belly with this one.”
And huge support on their back, Rowe feels, with the 16,000-capacity North Sydney Oval sold out for the fixture. “I reckon 15,900 will be Irish!”
Regardless of what happens on Saturday, it’s then onto a 10th AFLW season for Rowe, who first signed for Collingwood as a 23-year-old in 2018.
She had already lived a colourful sporting life, and has had many chapters since – including winning an A-League Women’s soccer title with Central Coast Mariners in her AFLW off-season last year – but Rowe is fully committed to the oval ball for now.
“It’s hard to believe that I’ve been out here for 10 years now. This is the last year of my contract with Collingwood, so I suppose we’ll reassess from here, but it’s just incredible.
“The one thing I said to myself this year is embrace this season and try not to think too far ahead, because I’m always plotting and planning in this head of mine!
“Maybe I’ll just chill out and just actually just go game by game, and not worry about what the next thing is that I’m going to do. Stay in the moment. For this weekend I’ll stay in the present of Ireland versus Australia, and then we’ll move on from there.”
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AFLW GAA Interview Sarah Rowe