‘I love every opportunity to sing Ireland’s Call or Amhrán na bhFiann’ – Christy Haney absorbed by her tale of the unexpected

Growing up in Virginia, the idea of playing Test rugby seemed like a pipe dream, especially considering Haney spent much of her early life playing softball.

Looking back on it now, Haney smiles at how things have worked out because little did she know when she first moved to Ireland in 2016 that she would go on to represent the native country of her grandmother Gertrude Torpey, who hailed from Nenagh where she still has relations.

There is a palpable sense of pride in that from listening to Haney chart her journey from America to the green jersey, which has brought just as much joy to her parents Seán and Cathy.

Seán has already seen his daughter play live when he attended Ireland’s 2022 Six Nations game against Scotland in what was Haney’s first season with the squad. Two years later, Cathy is set to be at Ravenhill on April 27 for the same fixture.

​“My family back home are forever watching the matches regardless of what time they have to wake up in the morning,” Haney says.

“I get a few good luck messages from my nieces, it’s great to have that support and the knowledge that they are 100 per cent there for me every time I step onto the pitch.

“My dad’s first cousins, John and Nora Torpey, and their families are still in Tipperary. They’re great supporters but they are more of a hurling family than a rugby family.”

The Torpeys have had more of a reason to become a rugby family since Haney broke into the Ireland team.

Given how far she has come since the days of playing softball back home in the States, there are times when she pinches herself at how the cards have fallen for her.

“I originally moved over to get a Master’s in engineering from UCD,” the 30-year-old Leinster and Blackrock prop recalls.

“I was in two minds at the time, whether I would keep playing rugby or not. I have family in Tipperary but I was based in Dublin but when you move somewhere new having that instant friend group and family that rugby brings with it, I was immediately drawn back in.

“The environment over here with the structures that are in place in Dublin are really good, I got really involved with Leinster shortly after that and also with coaching some of the minis teams around Dublin as well.

“It kind of snowballed from just being here for a year or two into however long ... don’t tell my mom!

“I started playing rugby in 2012 for the University of Virginia. My two coaches at the time were absolutely phenomenal.

“It’s some of the best fun that I had playing rugby but forgive me for saying this, it was some of the lowest rugby IQ because it’s just about pass backwards and run forwards. It was a great way to learn.

“They threw me into tighthead prop in my first match. I didn’t know what I was doing. I had the second-row behind me, ‘I’m going to hold here, you’re going to hold there.’

“So, it really was trial by fire but I think it’s great to step up to those challenges and to get cracking. I love the scrum-time, it’s always something exciting to look forward to.

​“I played softball from an early age. I get slagged a bit for my stance at the front of the lineout, it’s quite low and I think that comes from my softball roots.

“I was a catcher for years and years. I absolutely loved it.

"When I went to college, I remember I was laughing with my mom, it was a little bit too hard on my knees, so I was saying I need to find something different that’s a little less hard on the body.

"I don’t know why I picked rugby, it was a terrible choice!”

Haney quickly caught the rugby bug, and while she always knew she was Irish-qualified, the move to Dublin was primarily about her day job.

“I was briefly involved with the US All-Collegiate team, but I am a structural engineer now, I had a really big focus on my studies and my career,” she continues.

“At the time, I had to make a really big call and that was to focus on my education. Being able to come here and get another opportunity to play on the international stage and to have such an incredible honour, it can leave you speechless at times – just the way life rolls around.

“When I had the opportunity two Six Nations ago to put my hand up and to come into the squad, I was incredibly humbled.”

A tough start to the Six Nations has further highlighted how much ground Ireland have to make up, but with Wales, who are also winless after two games, coming to Cork next Saturday, it’s a chance to put things right.

For Haney, it’s all about continuing to enjoy what has proven to be a wonderfully, unexpected journey.

“It’s been a roller-coaster and I have loved every step of the way,” she adds.

“Sport is such a huge part of who I am. I love the team environment. I love being part of a family and to be able to do that at a high performance level and to be able to put it all out there and commit fully to it is such a humbling place to be.

“I love every opportunity to sing Ireland’s Call or Amhrán na bhFiann. It fills you full with pride. It’s really exciting to be part of this culture.”