DUBLIN, November 26, 2023 — Former Ireland rugby prop Lindsay Peat revealed the surprisingly difficult transition she faced when switching to the sport at age 35, despite a decorated background in other athletic pursuits.
A Late Start, A Steep Learning Curve
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Peat’s unique path to international rugby highlights the challenges and rewards of embracing a new sport later in life.
- Peat excelled in football, basketball, and Gaelic football before taking up rugby at 35.
- She earned 38 caps for Ireland, playing in the 2017 Rugby World Cup and every Women’s Six Nations from 2016 to 2021.
- Peat credits her Ireland teammates with motivating her and helping her navigate the complexities of the game.
Peat’s athletic journey began well before rugby. She previously represented the Republic of Ireland at the under-18 level in football, captained the Ireland women’s national basketball team, and competed in senior Ladies’ Gaelic football for Dublin, winning an All-Ireland title in 2010 and scoring two goals in the 2014 final.
What challenges did Lindsay Peat face when transitioning to rugby? Peat found the learning curve steep, admitting she “had not a clue what I was doing” during her first Six Nations campaign. Despite her prior athletic success, the nuances of rugby union proved demanding.
Fast-Tracked to the International Stage
Remarkably, within months of picking up the sport, Peat was selected for the Ireland team by then-coach Tom Tierney. She made her international debut in November 2015, coming on as a replacement in an 8-3 defeat against England – just her eighth rugby match ever played.
“Tom [Tierney] said he’d like to invite me to camp and it was after that first Six Nations…that Tom said, ‘I threw you in at the deep end there’ and I was like, ‘yeah, you did’,” Peat recalled. She described being thrown into a team that had already achieved significant success, including Grand Slam victories and a World Cup semi-final appearance against England.
However, she found motivation in her teammates. “I was coming into a team that had won Grand Slams and been to a semi-final [of a World Cup against England], but it was them who motivated me,” she explained. “I had to make so many mistakes with egg on my face. It was tough but they had standards and I had come in and if I was going to take the jersey I understood that.”
From Player to Coach: Passing on the Lessons Learned
Peat ultimately earned 38 caps for Ireland before retiring from international duty at the age of 41. She now coaches at Railway Union Rugby Club, where she applies the lessons she learned as a player to help develop young talent.
“I had to make mistakes to learn, it was tough learnings,” Peat said. “I’m all for the arm round the shoulder but if we’re not honest in our feedback then how do we have the growth mindset?” She emphasizes the importance of embracing mistakes as part of the learning process, encouraging players to “make mistakes, I’d rather you make a mistake trying rather than not make a mistake not trying at all because you’re so scared.”
Peat also noted the positive evolution of women’s sports, stating, “The female game, no matter what sport we’re talking about, women are getting exposed to a lot better coaching and early exposure at underage, so their skill set is through the roof.”
