News

Highlights: August 2026

Rookie Camp

We were delighted to welcome more than 60 players to Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort in mid-August for our annual Rookie Cam[p, which was this year led by Paul Marshall.

Delivered over two days, Rookie Camp serves as an induction into life as a professional rugby player in Ireland, covering many of the opportunities, responsibilities and challenges players can expect to encounter both on and off the field. It also provides an opportunity to meet the Rugby Players Ireland staff who will be an important source of support throughout their careers.

For the first time, newly contracted members of the women’s programme also joined the camp, bringing players from across the professional game together at the outset of their careers.

Across the two days, players took part in workshops spanning financial wellbeing with Bank of Ireland; personal branding and design with Canva; relationships with Active*Consent; women’s health with Herology; mental wellbeing through Tackle Your Feelings; and media awareness with Iris Media Productions and the URC. Rossa O’Donnell also facilitated a session on leadership.

EPIC Global Solutions led a workshop on gambling awareness, delivered through the PROtect Integrity Responsibly project with the support of the European Athletes & Players Association.

Impact Gumshields, N-Pro and Naze Ireland were also on hand, giving players the opportunity to access equipment and seek advice on areas relating to their welfare and protection.

We were also joined by Gillian McDarby and Chris Goodman of the IRFU for a discussion on the high-performance rugby environment in Ireland, while Josh van der Flier dropped by to share some of the lessons he has learned throughout his own career as a professional player.

Golf Classic

The Rugby Players Ireland Annual Golf Classic once again provided a great opportunity to bring past and present players together with our partners and wider RPI network at Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and supported the Players’ Association ahead of another busy season.

Congratulations to our winners on the day. Shane Byrne led Zurich Ireland to top spot, with Paddy McCarthy and The Team finishing runners-up. Audrey O’Flynn helped AIB Finance & Leasing to third place. 

O’Flynn also claimed the women’s Longest Drive, with Bryan Mollen taking the honours in the men’s competition.  

Interpros

Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Our congratulations to Maeve Óg O’Leary and her Munster Rugby teammates, who successfully defended their Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship title with a 14-5 victory over Leinster in Saturday’s final in Galway.

It wasn’t long ago that injury threatened Maeve’s playing career. Now, she has captained her province to back-to-back Interprovincial titles. Through her involvement in our Tackle Your Feelings campaign with Wilson Hartnell, we’ve also had the opportunity to see the leadership she brings away from the pitch.

Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Nick Elliott

In other news, the IRFU announced its roster of centrally contracted players for the coming season. Aoibheann Reilly is included after missing the Six Nations, while Linda Djougang has returned to the programme. Amee-Leigh Costigan has also been retained following the recent birth of her twins.

Four players have been awarded their first national contracts, with Sophie Barrett, Kate Jordan, Aoibheann McGrath and Eilís Cahill joining the contracted group. Cahill made her Ireland debut during this year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

RPI Roadshow

It’s that time of year again, and RPI representatives have been clocking up the miles to visit squad groups across the country ahead of the new season.

The visits provide an important opportunity for players to connect directly with RPI staff, hear the latest from across the player representation landscape and discuss some of the issues they should be aware of in the months ahead.

Topics this year have included findings from our recent member survey, how players’ contributions to Tackle Your Feelings (TYF) are now helping to shape the mental health landscape for athletes across Europe, and the latest developments from our PROtect Integrity Responsibly project.

Tackle Your Feelings

With pre-season in full swing, we recently took the opportunity to give some of our players a welcome break from the training ground, while members of our TYF team took a little time out from preparations for the return to school.

A big thank you to Steve Crosbie and the team at Fad Saoil Saunas in Blackrock for bringing members of our TYF community together for a morning of self-care, connection and conversation.

Padel

With a number of players reaching the end of their contracts, we arranged for a padel event at Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel to bring the group together, maintain those important connections and offer an enjoyable opportunity to catch up as they looked towards what comes next.

Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Martin Seras Lima

Kate Farrell McCabe was unable to attend on the day but as her time as a full-time professional athlete came to an end, we spoke with her about her experiences in the game and her hopes for the future. After sevens years with the Irish 7s, Farrell McCabe is now working with Fad Saoil Saunas which is headed up by former player Steve Crosbie. 

Read Kate’s interview here. 

Beyond the Game

Our congratulations to Gary Lavin on the recent sale of VitHit, the company he built after injury brought his playing career to an unexpected end. British drinks group Nichols plc have acquired the business for €75 million. 

Former Ireland Under-20 international Gene O’Leary Kareem has opted to step away from professional rugby and has left Munster ahead of a third year in the province’s academy. We wish him well.

Our congratulations to former Munster Rugby player Eoin O’Connor who received first class honours in his business degree from the University of Limerick. 

This month, former Connacht Rugby player Ciaran Booth and his partner Lucy set off on a 30,000km journey around the world, aiming to raise £50,000 for Sport Parkinson’s in honour of his mum, Annie. We were delighted to reconnect with Ciaran through Tackle Your Feelings ahead of his departure and play a small part in getting their adventure off the ground.