She has gone from basketball and horse riding to international rugby
Who is Dorothy Wall: Ten things you should know about the Ireland back-row
Dorothy Wall is known for her ability to get over the gain-line and her hard-hitting tackles.
Ten things you should know about Dorothy Wall
1. Dorothy Wall was born on 4 May 2000 in County Tipperary, Ireland. She stands at 5ft 8.5in (1.74m).
2. She started playing rugby at Fethard RFC, her local club, and now plays for Blackrock College and Munster.
3. Wall won her first Ireland cap against Scotland in the 2020 Six Nations and she has also represented the country’s sevens team.
4. She scored her first Test try in 2021 against Wales in the Six Nations.
5. Former Ireland captain Ciara Griffin has been a mentor for Wall. She told Munster Rugby: “It’s kind of a tough-love situation, I know she really likes me deep down but I get plenty of abuse off her.
“Besides the joking part, I’ve learnt loads from her. She’s great. She’ll take me aside and do one-on-one tackling. If I have any questions, I’ll go to her.”
She has also praised the influence of Ashleigh Baxter and Lucy Mulhall during her time in sevens, saying: “Their work-rate was hard to comprehend, how they pushed their bodies.”
6. She enjoys cooking. Her mum is a chef and her gran is known for her cakes. “After I made my debut she gave me a box of brownies, so I offered them around on the bus,” she says.
7. Growing up Wall played basketball and had trials for Ireland when she was 16. She said: “Then I got into rugby and when I went back to basketball I was a bit too rough!
“I’d found my love in rugby but I think any ball sports benefit each other – movement, hand-eye coordination, reacting fast…”
8. Wall is a radiography student and is due to complete her course in 2023. She left the Ireland Sevens set-up in January 2022 to focus on finishing her degree.
9. She likes to ride horses and grew up doing tetrathlons, which is running, horseback riding, shooting and swimming.
10. She describes herself as “outgoing”, adding: “I enjoy the social element of rugby.”
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