I was googling it, like “What is rugby?” someone back. There’s nothing better. That feeling you get after it “How do you play rugby?” world, I’m pretty sure there has to be a young girl with so much potential… but she because you just executed a skill hasn’t been seen, because an so perfectly and you have got the opportunity hasn’t been given to ball back.’ How about playing against her. I feel like if we need more athletes, France? It happened (at the Six Nations) and if we need a fighter, if we need them, we can find her francophone background suddenly came them there. It’s just a matter of giving them the to the fore, as she found she could translate opportunity.’ the commands of the other side’s coach – the Ireland forward coach wasted no time in pushing her toward the French huddle for some light espionage. If she does go for a visit to Cameroon, apart from reconnecting with people and distributing O’Neills strips, she looks forward to eating things she remembers from that part of the world. ‘I She appears for our interview wearing a blue want to try everything, proper food, spicy food. Dublin GAA jersey and it is clear that her love I will gain so much weight, I will probably need for Irish strips, their histories and rivalries, a season to get back!’ has rooted her deeply. In the course of our conversation, it comes to her that if she were to visit her birthplace one day (she has not been back since her childhood) she might carry these Irish colours with her and see local kids wear them, potentially seeding and nourishing ‘massive dreams’ in overlooked places. While not a fan of Martial Arts herself, she has heard of Cameroonian Francis Ngannou, UCF heavyweight champion who is already sparking hope among young people in Cameroon with his incredible story. Ngannou worked in a rock quarry, aged ten, entered Europe through Spain (where he was jailed for 2 months), and lived homeless in France before finding a gym and Reflecting on the full journey she has lived leads to gratitude. She remembers being a small child in Cameroon, making grass dolls with friends to practice braiding hair, and this brings back to her the lack of basics, let alone luxuries, she experienced growing up. ‘I think that when we look at ourselves now, we wake up every day, we have water, we have food, we have a car. You appreciate the water that you’re drinking, you appreciate the bed. Because you didn’t have it back in the day.’ Drawing on strength of will as well as natural power and abiding curiosity, Linda Djougang has already smashed through many obstacles, with likely more on the way. a coach. Asked to name her personal heroes, she singles out Serena Williams as a paragon of dedication and the Cameroonian athlete, Françoise Mbango Etone, 2-time Olympic gold medallist in the triple jump (in Athens 2004, and Beijing 2008). ‘You would be queueing outside your neighbour’s house trying to get in to watch her on TV.’ She is sure that other natural virtuosos, just like Serena, Françoise and herself, are out there: ‘Somewhere in Africa, somewhere in the
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