Brittany off to fast start

Brittany off to fast start

27 August 2025

KILLINCHY’S Brittany Hogan admits she was emotional after being named player of the match in Ireland’s Women’s Rugby World Cup victory over Japan on Sunday.

Ireland were hampered by injuries for their opening round clash at Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton, with Dorothy Wall and Erin King ruled out before the tournament 

They were also without Six Nations player of the tournament Aoife Wafer, who remains in Dublin, continuing her rehabilitation following knee surgery.

However, the Green Wave were in safe hands with Hogan in the back row, on what was her 35th cap for the national team, as she produced a masterful performance in a comfortable 42-14 win.

The 26 year-old was a key cog in the machine, posting an impressive 12 tackles to limit the Japan attack to one offload and nine defenders beaten, which would have come as no surprise to injured teammate Wall.

Speaking before the match, Wall backed Hogan to make the desired impact, stating: “There’s lots of talk about a back row crisis, but Brittany Hogan is a gain-line workhorse, she does it every week.

“Her skills are phenomenal. She’s the glue that keeps the Irish back row together.”

The entire squad brought their A-game in Ireland’s first appearance at the tournament since 2017, but it was the Ulster star shone brightest, and while she could have admired her own efforts, she was keen to highlight what it meant to the team as a whole.

“It means so much for us to get that performance today. The occasion meant so much to the whole team. We haven’t been here since 2017, so we could have went into our shells, but that first-half performance was great.

“It was so exciting to finally be there and a little bit of emotions came out.”

Hogan was a member of the squad that missed out on qualification for the 2021 World Cup and having made it her goal to appear at this year’s tournament, she has explained where her inspiration comes from.

“I lost my dad two years ago and then my grandad in August. They were two father figures in my life that are gone, and I am playing for them.

“My dad got stung by a wasp on the way home from work and went into anaphylactic shock. He had to pull over in the car and my little sister was calling people to help, so without her or the help of the air ambulance, we wouldn’t have been able to say goodbye.

“It was traumatic and tragic. It was a hard period of time, but we’ve had a few more sudden deaths in the group, and we’ve grown to know how to deal with it and we rallied around each other.”

Rather than take a break from the spot, the Down High School alumna invested her focus in achieving her rugby ambitions.

“I didn’t really take time off after their deaths because rugby waits for no one,” she explained. 

“We have to train and it’s about being able to look after each other off the pitch away from training is the most important thing.

“My dad came to as many games and tournaments in the year before he died that he could, so I have 

good memories, and I’ll never forget him.”

The triumph against Japan was the ideal way for Ireland to kick-start their World Cup campaign and although pool stage matches against Spain and holders New Zealand await, Hogan and her teammates hold ambitions for a deep run in the competition.

“Our target and we have openly said, is to get to London and to a semi-final,” she stated.

“We are hoping to get two wins in the Pool stage, but we’re under no illusion that every team has worked four years to get here. So, we know how hard these matches are going to be, but also how hard we have worked to get here.”

Ireland take on Spain in their second pool stage match at 12pm on Sunday.