A TV sports presenter from Northern Ireland has said covering her first Ireland rugby game on Saturday was a childhood “dream come true”, explaining that it “was one of the few sports that brought both communities together” here.
TNT Sport journalist Orla Chennaoui took to social media to share her delight after covering Ireland’s 52-17 defeat of Fiji from pitchside at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, alongside Irish rugby legends Brian O’Driscoll and Simon Zebo.
“Well, that was a little-girl’s-dream-come-true kind of day. I have worked in elite professional sport for a long time now, but this was my first time getting to cover an Ireland rugby match,” Chennaoui wrote on Instagram.
“Shall I share a story about Ireland and why I came to love rugby so much as a kid? It’s because it was one of the few games, when I was growing up, that we played together as a nation.
“I was brought up a Catholic in a deeply and violently divided Northern Ireland. While my love for Gaelic sports came from the very heart of our community, from the heart of our family, rugby was one of the few sports that brought both communities together.”
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Growing up in Draperstown, a predominantly Catholic village in Co Derry, the former all-Ireland triple jump champion recalled how she would “belt out Amhrán na bhFiann at Gaelic football matches,” but added the rugby anthem “was different.”
“It was a sporting anthem that belonged to everyone and belonged to rugby in particular,” she wrote.
She added: “I have always been proudly Irish and proudly Northern Irish, and this was one of the few sports where I didn’t have to choose allegiance between the two.
“So, my love for rugby is deeply rooted in a love for Ireland playing rugby in particular. To be pitch-side, to get to cover the game alongside legends @brianodriscoll and @simonzebo, was very special indeed. And an awful lot of craic.”
She added: “A joy of a day from start to finish, and I really hope you enjoyed it with us.”