Dungannon’s Marley sets sights on Paris

Dungannon women’s rugby star Niamh Marley has taken her first steps on an exciting new road which she hopes will ultimately lead to competing for Team Ireland at next year’s Paris Olympics after being head-hunted by the IRFU.

The 30-year-old is currently in the middle of an intense three-week trial in the Irish sevens set-up at the IRFU’s high-performance centre in Dublin, with a full-time professional contract on the cards if she cuts the mustard.

Having just got the unexpected call the previous Thursday morning, Marley was pitched straight in to train with Ireland’s established stars at Abbotstown last Monday and this week will be involved in training games against France and Spain behind closed doors.

Ireland’s women currently appear well-placed to qualify for the Olympics for the first time, having missed out on Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, and the prospect of competing at Paris 2024 is naturally appealing to recent rugby convert Marley.

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