O’Byrne-White: Every Game Is Big, You’re Getting To The Business End

Old Belvedere’s last All-Ireland League final appearance was back in April 2018, and they memorably won three titles in-a-row between 2013 and 2015. They are hoping to end that long wait to get their hands back on the trophy by the end of April.

As things stand, ‘Belvo have a five-point advantage over fifth-placed Wicklow, whom they meet at Ashtown Lane next week. They have had an unblemished record since late October, apart from last month’s disappointing 17-10 defeat at Galwegians.

Vastly-experienced centre Elise O’Byrne-White believes they have improved as the season has gone on, and is expecting two tough battles when resuming their league campaign at home to Cooke, who have moved out of the bottom two, and then away to Wicklow.

“Wicklow is going to be an important game for us. We have that in the diary but the Cooke girls have really improved, they are a team that is building. They are a different team this side of Christmas,” she said, speaking ahead of the Belfast side’s visit to Ollie Campbell Park this Saturday (kick-off 5pm).

“So, that game in itself, we’re not taking it for granted. Cooke are very difficult, very strong up front. It’s exciting, I’m starting to feel like we’re starting to get into the business end of the season.

“You’re watching the table. You’re watching the points coming in, and realistically, we are looking to build bonus points in the next few games. It’s all part of the end goal of getting into that top four, top three positions.

“Every game is a big game, Cooke and Wicklow up next. I think there’s a timeline as well on performance. We have been improving as the season has gone on. I’m expecting that by the time hopefully we get to the semi-final stage, we’ll be at the best version of ourselves.

“I think each game so far has highlighted different issues, different weaknesses. But, ultimately, we’ve learned from each game. All of the games we’re getting are tough, especially the last three (in March against UL Bohemian, Blackrock College, and Railway Union).

“But they’re the games that I think you look forward to the most because, honestly, they’re the biggest challenges, and we don’t have anything to lose. We just have everything to gain.

“So, the pressure is off really for us at the same time, and we can just reflect on ourselves, reflect on areas of the game we need to tweak and improve, and then just go after it. So I’m looking forward to it.”

Winning All-Ireland League silverware is something that O’Byrne-White knows well and craves again. Involved in all three of Belvedere’s title-winning seasons, unfortunately ups and downs have followed the 34-year-old around in her rugby career.

First playing the sport alongside boys at the age of five and proudly captaining the De La Salle Palmerston boys team, she stayed involved until being forced to quit at 12 due to the lack of underage girls teams in Dublin.

It was only during Freshers week in Trinity College, where she was studying for a degree in science, specialising in zoology, that the idea of playing rugby again presented itself. She was back with an oval ball in her hand in January 2011.

Ireland call-ups followed, including an initial spell in the Women’s Sevens programme, along with season after season in the blue of Leinster and ‘Belvo’s famous black-and-white hooped jersey.

O’Byrne-White has had to cope with a number of setbacks to her international career, as not once but twice did an ACL injury rule her out of selection. The first one prevented her playing at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2013, and the second came a few years later in 15s.

It was a tough time for the Dubliner, but while she was at her lowest, returning to play with Old Belvedere and Leinster, and embracing that team culture and dynamic, reignited the spark that still burns brightly to this day.

“I’ve probably had more downs at international level than ups, which is why the club game is so important to me. Not all players get what they work for or not all players get what they hope for,” she explained.

“I think that’s really important to acknowledge. I don’t think a lot of people tell you that. Even if you’re talented and you work hard, you still don’t get what you want or what you deserve sometimes.

“But I’ve had a long career anyway. It’s definitely one thing you can say. I was involved with the Ireland set-up probably from 2012. So when I was around 22, I was due to go to the Sevens World Cup and then I did my ACL two weeks before we left.

“So I never ended up getting capped in Sevens, but I was there or thereabouts, and same with the 15s, all ready to go with that and I didn’t really get back in time for my ACL, but I got selected in 2016. That was great. Kind of in the mix properly.

“Then I was due to play in the November international against New Zealand when I did my other ACL, and I was kind of out of the picture then. You could be a bit disappointed with an international career like that. But at the end of the day, I’ve gotten so much from here.

It’s where I just have such brilliant rugby memories, and I’m so grateful for that. I feel like when I was at my lowest, I felt like basically if I wasn’t playing for Ireland, I wasn’t good enough for anything.

“And I was just coming back and playing for Leinster that I realised, ‘Actually, you know that’s not why I played. That’s not why I ever started’.

“It was just to enjoy and be part of a really good team, and I’ve been really lucky in that I’ve been part of really, really good teams at Leinster, and I’ve been part of really, really good teams at’Belvo.

“I think what keeps me coming back is that team culture, team spirit, and that dynamic, and when you feel that out in the pitch, that’s special. That’s enough to keep you coming back for as long as I can, and definitely my role changed in the team.

“My speed is not what it used to be, but there’s lots to be said for experience, and talking around the game. I think that’s kind of where I’m at at the moment. I’m just really enjoying it.

“Nearly fourteen seasons with Leinster, and fifteen seasons with Belvedere. It’s been a long career. I think I’m just actually enjoying it more and more as I get older.”

She added: “It’s just personal goals and just personal enjoyment, and the enjoyment of the game and the social aspect of things. It’s kind of what club rugby is all about. I have so much time for club rugby and Old Belvedere.

“I think one of my highlight rugby memories are the games I’ve played at club level. Luckily enough I’ve been part of the teams in Belvedere that won three AILs. It’s been a good run.

“I’d love Old Belvedere to get back to that top four position, and get some silverware because it is such an achievement, because of the challenges that you face at club (level) and because of those hard-fought battles and the length of the season.

“I think the AIL has a special place for me, especially in my rugby career. So I feel very lucky to still be playing. I very much enjoy each game as it comes. Like I said, still keeping an eye on the table, but I think when you get to my age, you just enjoy rugby for rugby, which is also a great thing to be able to do.”

O’Byrne-White balances her rugby career with working as a Veterinary Director and surgeon with the DSPCA, and is a well-known face to many for her appearances on RTÉ TV series, ‘The Shelter: Animal SOS’.

With a wide variety of animals coming through the door, it can be a fast-paced and exhausting job before she has to put on the boots and train and play matches with Old Belvedere.

With work and playing in the All-Ireland League, she can have good days and bad days. Kicking off the 2024/25 season, ‘Belvo endured a winless start with defeats to current leaders Railway Union, Blackrock, and defending champions UL Bohs.

Since then Tania Rosser’s charges have won eight out of nine matches, including seven in a row before losing by seven points to a fired-up ‘Wegians out west.

With the semi-finals back this year, finishing in the top four will give them a shot at playing in the Men’s and Women’s AIL finals double header at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday, April 26.

O’Byrne-White says that staging the finals there offers a ‘massive incentive’ to club players who have long dreamed of lining out at Irish Rugby HQ. She is full of praise for Rosser and her team-mates and the hard work done to date. The focus now shifts to the season run-in.

“I’d love to play in the Aviva Stadium. I had two pitches I wanted to play in my whole career – one was the RDS, which I don’t think will happen, and the other one is the Aviva, so that’s still possible,” she admitted.

“I don’t know if people realise how big a deal that is. To come and have a Women’s club team playing in Aviva, that’s a lifetime kind of privilege and badge of honour for club players. I think it’s huge.

“It’s a massive incentive for me, for the rest of the girls, and for the entire AIL. I’m really happy about it. I’m really delighted about it because I think it really represents a just reward for how much work goes into each season.

“Hopefully now they’ll see where we are. But it’s the dark winter months that you put in the hard yards to get there, and we’re definitely putting in the hard yards now.

“I think it sounds pretty straightforward on paper, but there’s been a lot in that. Getting those wins has not been easy, especially with the way we’ve had so many players playing internationally, and the Celtic Challenge as well.

I think it’s credit to Tania (pictured above) and the girls and the team, that we’ve been maintaining performances, with a lot of players that maybe wouldn’t have been playing at AIL level before.

“We’re nearly taking for granted that we’re actually performing very well, but a huge amount of effort has gone in, and loads of girls are really performing in Division 1 rugby, which is actually quite new to a lot of them.

“It’s also been really refreshing to have a kind of a new dynamic for the team, which is an absolute mix of younger players and older players like myself.

“When you get to a semi-final, all bets are off. The season is done. You’re in a semi-final, and everything’s to play for in a semi-final. That’s one game away from a final. Anything can happen, and then anything can happen in the final.

“So, I think the top three teams, there’s a little bit of a gap between Railway, UL, and Blackrock, and then ourselves at the moment, and I think that’s the gap that we’ll be looking to try and close over the next six to eight weeks.”

She continued: “We’ll be using every single game to get there because we do need it, and it just takes time. It just takes time building a team when you don’t have your players that are gone to the Celtic Challenge.

“We’re down 15 or 16 internationals. It’s a whole starting team. We’re doing really well to get this far into it. It’s a big ask, but I think it’s one that we’re all up for, and it’s one that we’ve been building on through the whole season.

“We’ve been aware of it from day one. I’m looking forward to it. It kind of just puts a different perspective on things. One of our goals is to get to the semi-final first. It was to be in the top four position before Christmas, which we achieved.

“Now we’re looking to again push on and see if we can get a top three finish. But, ultimately, we want to be in that semi final place. That was set out at the beginning of the year. Like every team, there’s different challenges to that every year.

“It’s different for different teams, we’ve had a few injuries and a few players moving around, moving countries and things like that. Changing positions, younger girls filling in new positions. Players like myself just remaining intact is a challenge. We’ve been managing it.

“Full credit to Tania for bringing this team along and reaching the goals that we’ve been setting out, as a leadership group and as a player group. And so far, we’ve been achieving them.

“Obviously, we were very disappointed with the result at Galwegians, but we bounced back against Suttonians (winning 24-3 in round 12). A totally different performance, back to where we should have been really.”

– Additional photos from Ronan Ryan

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