Navan RFC centre Cara Marin is set to stand shoulder to shoulder with team mates and answer Ireland’s call after being called up to the squad for a double header of under 20 internationals against hosts Italy and Portugal later this month.
And she told Meath Live she’s only too happy to do so even if it means abandoning plans for a post Leaving Certificate holiday with friends,
‘I left this morning, (Friday), for a family holiday in Portugal and was meant to stay on afterwards and join up with friends but that’s gone for the moment, I just finished the leaving in Navan’s Mercy convent and was looking forward to it but I couldn’t turn this chance down.
‘It is an opportunity I have been working towards since I started playing rugby at ten, the best moment I had so far was going from halfway to score an intercept try for the club but in fairness this surpasses that.
‘I’m a fairly grounded type of girl and know making the squad is one thing and making the starting XV quite another I’ll just keep working hard and taking feed back from coaches and other players as well as continuing strength and conditioning with David Quirke who’s helped me in that area over the years.’
One of the big areas of contention in rugby at the moment concerns the amount of concussions in the game and Cara is well aware of the problem.
‘I wouldn’t say concussion isn’t as big of an issue in the women’s game as in the mens I think it’s very monitored and there is a lot of awareness about it which minimizes bad concussions.  Players and coaches follow strict HIA guidelines and return to play protocols.’
Rugby may be her first love but there has been a career helping interest in GAA as well.
‘ I used to play Gaelic with Simonstown I played GAA before rugby and it helped with developing the fundamentals  of the game like catching the ball and running and being involved with a team.’
