Aoife Wafer: Awards, accolades, and how Ireland can be the best in the world

Neil Treacy· Host0:00

[rock music] Okay, you're very welcome along to a special RTE rugby podcast. A little out of the blue, this one. But I'm delighted to say I'm joined by Aoife Wafer for the second year in a row, and for the first time ever, a back-to-back Guinness Women's Six Nations Player of the Championship. Aoife, congratulations.

Aoife Wafer· Guest0:23

[laughs] Cheers. Thank you very much, and sure, thanks for having me as well.

Neil Treacy· Host0:25

[laughs] Oh, no, uh, it's a pleasure to have you on. Um, as I said, second year in a row this has happened. It was, uh, announced to, to you and everyone yesterday afternoon. Um, you might talk us through how it happened, because it all came about a little bit as a, as a surprise to yourself. You obviously knew you were in the mix for it, but you were at an event yesterday, and you, you weren't really expecting it to be announced there and then.

Aoife Wafer· Guest0:47

Yeah, like, I, I knew I was nominated for it alongside some, some other brilliant, like, athletes as well. And, uh, yeah, I, I was told I hadn't won it, um, a few weeks ago, and, and, like, when the voting closed. So, uh, I was kinda like just getting out of rehab, all that kind of craic, and got an email from, um, from one of the media people in the RFU. And they were like, "Oh, look, the, like, Six Nations need a few PWR, like, London-based players to go to an event to, I suppose, celebrate how record-breaking this Six Nations has been." Um, and went, and they were like, "Are, are any of the Queens girls going to the, the, the, the PWR?" And the Prem Awards were that night as well, so they were like, "Oh, is there, is there any Queens girls going to that as well?" And I was like, "Yeah, like, there's a few. Why?