Louise Glass speaks to the former Down captain who is making a name for herself in the oval ball game.

THE first thing you notice about Eliza Downey is that she loves to talk.

The next thing you notice is her passion and her drive to succeed – it’s infectious.
I’ve met Eliza a few times now, and played against her once or twice too on the Gaelic pitch, and each time I come away with the thought, ‘Wow, I wonder if I could do that too?’
Eliza plays Ladies Gaelic Football for Down and she also plays rugby for Ireland.

She captained Down Ladies in 2009 to Division Two glory.  She has represented Ulster in the Ladies Gaelic Inter-provincials, won two Dowd Cup and one O’Connor Cup with UUJ, Ulster Colleges All-Stars, a Sunday Life Merit Award and a Ladies Gaelic All-Star nomination in 2008.

She also played netball for the Northern Ireland Under-17s and basketball for the Ulster Under-19s, winning All-Ireland medals in junior athletics and achieving green belt status in judo.
And if that wasn’t enough, the Annaclone player is now finding her feet at international level with the Ireland rugby squad.
The 23-year-old graduate in Sports Studies was in her first year at the Poly when she thought she’d give rugby a go.  She knew the ins and outs of the game having watched her brother and her father play for Banbridge RFC, but it was in fact a chance opportunity that saw her go down the rugby road, when she decided to help a friend out by playing in a university sevens tournament.

When Eliza eventually joined the club at UUJ she quickly made an impression after playing a few Varsity games and at the Carrick 10s, and was invited to trial for the Ulster squad.
She joined Belfast club Cooke ladies, established herself in the Ulster squad and was part of the Irish Vixen Sevens rugby team that took part in the Dubai Sevens.
In the space of a few short years, Eliza has put herself firmly on the rugby radar, earning her first Ireland cap when she came on as a replacement in the victory over Italy in the Women’s Six Nations Championship at the beginning of February.

“It will be a moment in my life that I will always remember,” said Eliza.

“The lead up to the match and getting my first cap was an amazing experience that I got to share with my friends and family that travelled down.

“It’s an absolute dream come true to get a call up to represent my country, but I’m also aware that I am on a steep learning curve and hope the experience as a whole will enhance me as a player.”
A steep learning curve it is.  After being named in the squad to play against Italy, she was then overlooked the following week for the defeat away to France.

“Obviously, when you commit a lot of your time and effort into something it is disappointing not to be given a chance to prove yourself, but it’s important to channel the disappointment into a positive thing,” she said.

“It acts as a motivator for me for the next opportunity I get, whether that’s in training or selection for another game.  It’s important for me to keep focused and concentrate on progressing as a player.”
She has made the transition from Ladies Gaelic football to Women’s rugby with relative ease, and has even retained her ‘full back’ position, although they do mean quite the opposite in both codes.

The two sports have many transferable skills, and one has complimented the other for Eliza, improving her all-round game.

The commitment with Ireland has however meant that her Gaelic Football career has been set to one side, in the short term at least.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to turn my back on Gaelic.  I’ve been  playing for the last 14 years and it is very much a part of my life and how I’ve been brought up, but at the moment I am giving my commitment to rugby and seeing how far I can progress as a player.  Sometimes you are given opportunities in life and you just have to take them,” she said.

“To be honest, it will be very difficult [to balance both sports in 2010] as I am not available to really play a proactive role in our league campaign.  Ideally I would love to give full commitment after that for training and matches, but that will really be at  the management’s discretion.”

And looking ahead to the summer, Eliza’s Championship ambitions are likely to be hampered by Ireland’s training preparations for the World Cup which gets underway in England in August.
She added: “I want to just keep playing, training and hitting hard and looking forward to continually learning.  Nobody knows what’s around the corner, so I’m just going to enjoy every minute of it.”
And of course Eliza will be keeping a close eye on how her county team- mates are doing.  She sees 2010 as a year for new players to step up and with the experienced hands, take the county forward.

“I think this year the Division Two league the girls are playing in is highly competitive.  With a number of girls not returning, there are quite a few inexperienced girls on the Down panel, but this is their time to now step up,” she said.

“Again it will be about taking every match as it comes but the commitment, determination and skill of the players on the squad this year will hopefully shine through in each of their games.”
FIVE MINUTES WITH ELIZA

DOB: 24/04/1986
POSITION GAELIC & RUGBY: Full Back – Gaelic

Full Back/Winger – Rugby
CLUB GAELIC & RUGBY: Annaclone – Gaelic
Cooke RFC – Rugby
LEFT OR RIGHT HANDED/FOOTED: Right
WHERE WERE YOU BORN: Daisy Hill, Hospital, Newry
WHERE DO YOU LIVE:  Good old Rathfriland on the Hill
FAVOURITE FOOD: Toast and Tea / Italian
FAVOURITE DRINK: Tea / Moscow Muel
FAVOURITE SPORTSPERSON: I was a big Linford Christie fan when I was young.
FAVOURITE MOVIE: Beaches
SCARED OF: Anything ever happening to family/friends
MOST MEMORABLE OCCASION ON & OFF FIELD: Lifting Div 2 All Ireland
league trophy for Down and two months travelling around Europe
BEST WAY TO RELAX: A big long walk or bath, dvds, pamper myself. Done
HOW DO YOU PREPARE BEFORE A GAME: Listen to a little music, usually
don’t talk too much, go through the routine, sort the hair out, get the Vicks and Deep Heat on and maybe a quick rub from the physio.