A former Abu Dhabi Harlequin who made her Test debut for Ireland against England on Saturday says she is a better player because of the four years she spent in the UAE.
Fiona Reidy made an appearance as a second-half substitute as the women’s Six Nations holders lost out 8-3 to England in a one-off Test at the Twickenham Stoop.
Winning a Test cap is a remarkable achievement for a player who had spent the previous four seasons playing low-stakes sevens in the Arabian Gulf league.
She took a circuitous route to the top of the international game. After first taking up rugby in 2006, Reidy made it to the brink of selection for her homeland, before accepting a job offer to teach in Abu Dhabi.
In 2008, she was part of a 32-player Ireland squad, but she did not make the final cut as she was still relatively new to the game.
“I thought no more of it,” Reidy said. “When I finished university I didn’t have a job, and I randomly applied for a job in Abu Dhabi.
“I got it. I thought I’d go to Abu Dhabi for a year, have a break from rugby, travel the world, then come back and set a new goal of making an Irish squad in the future.”
That one-year sojourn did not work out exactly as planned. Four years later, after “getting a little bit sidetracked” by life in the UAE, she made the decision to finally cut her ties with the Middle East in the summer.
It is easy to think Saturday’s Test call-up might have come a lot sooner had she stayed in Ireland in the intervening time. But Reidy says the years she spent in the capital were anything but wasted.
“The rugby club was brilliant and it gave me a whole new perspective on rugby,” she said.
“Harlequins are very supportive of the women’s team. It gives them everything the men get, possibly even more at times.
“I definitely developed more as a player in Abu Dhabi. Sevens improved my game appreciation and skills.
“Previously I had been a forward, and you can be railroaded into a specific job when you are in Ireland.
“It was a whole new flavour of rugby for me, and I loved it. I was developing as a player while I was there.”
Before departing for a trial at the Irish provincial side Munster in July, she leaned on some help from her friends at Abu Dhabi Harlequins one last time.
Most notably, she packed down with the forwards from the men’s side, to simulate the power game then she would be returning to in XVs in Ireland.
She enlisted the help of her compatriot Graham Murphy, a fellow Abu Dhabi schoolteacher and a front-rower for the Quins men.
“Scrums are a big part of the game in XVs that she hadn’t really had experience of while she was here,” Murphy said.
“She came to train with some of the stalwarts from the Quins front row, Phil Abraham and Chris Jones-Griffiths, and we decided the best thing for her to do was to get in there with us.
“I had seen her play and knew she was a good player, but to do what she has done in the space of four months is brilliant.”
Reidy says she returned to Ireland a more laid-back person, but that relaxed attitude was tested on Saturday by a new type of stress, albeit a happy one.
“I was on autopilot last week, going through the motions of normal life. It only felt real when we were on the pitch singing the national anthems,” Reidy said.
“Having the jersey in my hand was very emotional. You almost well up inside. You are in front of everyone, being presented with your shirt, and it is an overwhelming feeling of pride. You are beaming.”
Andy Cole, the Harlequins chairman, said his club were proud to have played a part in Reidy’s rise.
“We are here to give people the chance to play rugby, and if they have a talent for it then to help them develop,” Cole said.
“If they go on to higher success and we have played some small part in it, then that is our reward. It is fantastic, we are pleased to have played a part in Fiona’s success.”
pradley@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
