Hannah eyes ulster glory

Hannah eyes ulster glory

7 June 2023

DOWNPATRICK’S Hannah Lennon is rapidly making a name for herself as one of the lynchpins in the Ulster Women’s rugby sevens team.

The Down High School fifth year student has almost completed her GCSEs and while her classmates will be looking forward to an easy summer, the 16 year-old will be firmly focusing on her rugby.

Having spent two years with Ballynahinch where she played mini rugby, Hannah is now a member of Malone Ladies and is something of an all-rounder as she is certainly no slouch when it comes to running.

Able to play anywhere along the backline and equally adept at out-half and scrum-half, Hannah has never enjoyed her rugby more and is loving life.

She is a member of the Ulster U-16 sevens team and later this month will be part of the province’s junior ladies squad training session which has a number of inter-pro games lined up in addition to a clash against Celtic cousins Scotland in August.

And while the inter-pro clashes against Leinster, Munster and Connacht are tough and at times uncompromising affairs, the Downpatrick teenager is looking forward to the challenge that awaits.

Hannah will also be lining out against an American side this summer and said she is fortunate to have trained at the Irish Rugby Football Union’s high performance centre at Blanchardstown in Dublin which is also the home training base for Andy Farrell’s senior men’s squad that won this year’s Six Nations Grand Slam.

A recent convert to rugby, Hannah took up the sport just a few years ago after watching her beloved Ulster at the Kingspan stadium in Belfast alongside parents Jonny and Donna and brother Aaron.

Having studied the game she thought “I could do that” and hasn’t looked back since.

“I really enjoy my rugby and it’s really great to be involved in the sport,” she said.

“I started off playing mini rugby and have progressed to sevens rugby which is fast, but I really enjoy it. I’m with a great bunch of girls and we all get on well and i have made good friends.”

Hannah loves the training but says there is nothing to beat the competitive edge of match day.

And while the focus for now is on Ulster, the Downpatrick teenager is hoping that international honours might come her way some day.

For now, the focus is on keeping her head down, training hard and continuing to work on all aspects of her game.

Hannah’s idol is Ballymena’s Neve Jones, an Irish rugby international who plays for Ulster and Gloucester-Hartpury in the Women’s Rugby Premiership in England.

“I want to keep working hard as one of my goals would be to make it to the Premiership in England, but I know that will require hard work and dedication. For now, I’m focusing on Ulster and forthcoming training in sessions and games,” she said.

Hannah added: “It’s going to be a busy summer but I just can’t wait to get started.”