Former Ireland captain Niamh Briggs is enjoying life outside the white lines. The Abbeyside native was recently appointed as Munster Women's Head Coach.
"I started coaching in 2019 after I got injured. I quickly realised that I loved it more than I loved playing. I became very obsessive very quickly. I wanted to learn as much as I could. I understood rugby having played at a high level but coaching is very different. It's about teaching. The women's game is variable. With Bohs, we have girls who are playing international rugby and then we've got girls who are playing rugby for the very first time. You've got to be able to cater for all of them. It definitely tests your knowledge and your ability to get your message across."
Briggs is also assistant coach with Ireland and head coach with UL Bohs. She is learning all the time. "Ian Costello, for me, is one of the best coaches. He is head of the Munster academy. He is so organised and detailed. Stuart Lancaster is somebody I admire a huge amount from afar. I'm hoping to get in and see one of his sessions soon. Donie Buckley is someone that I would love to sit down over a cup of coffee with. He is involved with Mayo now. He is an incredible coach. I got to witness him when he was involved with Ballinacourty for a season. I thought he was brilliant. There's different coaches across different sports that you try to get little nuggets of information from. I try to keep my mind open to loads of things to be honest. I'm heading onto a coaching academy with Canterbury Crusaders over in New Zealand in the next few weeks and I'm really looking forward to that."
Her brother Shane is also lending a hand. "Shane is involved with the Kerry hurlers. I sat down with him over the summer and I'd say he was driven demented! He is on another level. He is so good at making up games through skills. His ability to plan sessions and organise things is really good. I learned a huge amount from him."
Listen back to the full interview with Niamh Briggs from Saturday's On The Ball.
