After impressing in sevens, she made her 15s debut in 2021
Who is Stacey Flood: Ten things you should know about the Ireland back
Stacey Flood is a relative newcomer to 15s but has taken the skills shown in sevens onto the Test stage.
Ten things you should know about Stacey Flood
1. Stacey Flood was born on 5 August 1996 in Dublin, Ireland. She stands at 5ft 7in (1.7m) and weighs 10st 12lb (69kg).
2. She plays her club rugby for Railway Union.
3. Flood won her first 15s cap in 2021 and she also competes for the country’s sevens team.
She was part of the team that reached the Cup final on the Seville leg of the World Sevens Series – a first-ever final for Ireland. They lost 17-12 to Australia.
4. In 15s, her first few starts came at fly-half while she moved to inside-centre for the opening rounds of the 2022 Six Nations.
Of playing ten, she has said: “Every time I go onto the pitch I learn something different. Tactically or even to start narrower and go wide, or keep hitting it up before we do.
“It’s still tough being fresh and trying to learn stuff on the go so much but I’m really enjoying it and the girls are so supportive and making it easier for me.”
5. Flood “grieved” after Scotland beat Ireland in a Rugby World Cup qualifier in 2021, meaning Ireland wouldn’t be at the event in New Zealand in 2022.
She told the Irish Examiner: “I cried that day, and the day after. I wouldn’t be much of a crier but it was like grieving a loss.”
6. Flood has said she would rather help develop Ireland’s league than leave to play in the Allianz Premier 15s in England.
She told Sports Joe: “It’s great that those leagues are doing well, and they’re so competitive, but imagine if you could have that on your front door. And you could be playing in Energia Park every weekend, or there could be finals on these big weekends.
“That would be a great opportunity, and imagine if you had the top two provinces getting the chance to play the top two from France, England and more. Imagine what that could do for women’s rugby all over the world, let alone just Ireland.”
7. She played Gaelic football for Clanna Gael Fontenoy GAA before switching to rugby.
8. Flood is the youngest of six children.
9. She says her guilty pleasure is a glass of red wine.
10. Flood has a degree in technology management from the National College of Ireland.
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