Dream massive Leinster and Ireland player, Linda Djougang, BSc (2020), talks to Luke Sheehan about juggling nursing and rugby and only taking up the game in her late teens F or Linda Djougang, life has moved fast. The Ireland International and Leinster prop is 26 this year and only started playing rugby in her late teens. A Six Nations veteran, she has become a face of the women’s game, who balances a demanding training regime with a career as a nurse. She counts her curiosity as the inner force that guided her into astonishing success in an unexpected sport which she took up late, while leading a parallel life on the ward in Tallaght Hospital. Born in Cameroon, Linda grew up speaking French and followed her father to Ireland, aged nine. Her taxi driver father had lived in France - a more natural destination for Cameroonians seeking a new start in Europe - before the move westwards. She emphasizes that this country ‘wasn’t the Ireland it is now’ when they arrived 17 years ago. Hearing Linda tell her story, it soon becomes clear that a yearning for physical excellence, competition and team play were all inside her from early on, waiting for a way to shine. She was a natural at GAA and Athletics in school, and the coaches were excited by her potential, but she is one in a large family - she has three step- sisters and a step-brother - and her parents pushed back at the time and commitment involved in having to drive her around the country for competitions. She still threw herself into exercise, though not every sport felt right. She tried cross-country running but quickly found that it wasn’t a fit (though she would insist on finishing each race to the end). That left her with just PE at school. She entered college to study nursing through the Trinity Access Programme and was among four Access students chosen to do an internship with sponsor Grant Thornton. The suits and ties and formality at the accounting firm intimidated her a little. ‘I was so shy when I was working there,’ she insists. Seeking a way to bond with colleagues outside of the office led her to tip rugby. ‘I was googling it, like “What is rugby?” “How do you play rugby?”’. Coming as an outsider into one of the most popular and money-leveraged sports around might have turned others off. Linda’s curiosity kicked in, and the rest is recent history. She quickly showed speed and power. She cites Anthony Eddy, former IRFU women’s rugby director, as playing an important role in eventually opening the door to playing for the national side. Her life now revolves around working shifts in Tallaght hospital and prepping for the next Leinster or Ireland game, while a media agency (Navy Blue) guides her through the fame side of things. How does she maintain a good life-work balance and self-discipline, not to mention self- care? When not caring for patients in hospital, she is clearly dedicated to the daily upkeep of her own physical and mental wellbeing. Two gym sessions a day is the norm - the morning for cardio and afternoon for weights to build strength. She is also a proponent of meditation and has boosted the Tackle Your Feelings initiative for mental health run by Rugby Ireland. Sunday is the day of rest (and Netflix): ‘I can be in bed as early as 5 in the afternoon!’ How would she mentor someone like herself coming up and looking for a place in one of the nation’s beloved sports sides? Apart from the obvious - start to play a little earlier! – ‘I would say have thick skin. It’s not an easy sport. Don’t be afraid to fail. That and hard work. Commitment, consistency and hard work are definitely my big three. And also dream big. Dream massive.’ On the subject of realizing dreams, she picks out a memory: ‘My most exciting moment might have been putting on the green jersey for the first time. That felt incredible.’ When it comes to performance on the pitch, ‘a good tackle’ is where Linda plants her flag. And not just any tackle… ‘Like, proper good, like putting
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