Larissa Muldoon
| Born | 11 March 1991 County Donegal, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 68 kg (150 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Larissa Muldoon (born 11 March 1991), from Cappry, County Donegal, is a former rugby union player for Railway Union, Ulster rugby and Ireland women's national rugby union team. Since 2023 she has worked as a coach with Connacht Rugby and the Ireland women's team.
Her first sport was Ladies' Gaelic football which she played for Donegal at Under-14 and Under-16 level, winning All-Ireland medals with both teams as a full-forward.
Playing career
[edit]She made her debut for the Ireland women's rugby union team at the age of 19, just two years after taking up the sport.[1]
She played for Ulster's U18s and seniors first and her selection for Ireland was prompted by the Cardiff Metropolitan University who sent a video of her in action to the Irish Rugby Football Union.[2]
Muldoon was a member of the Ireland team that won its first ever Six Nations and Grand Slam in 2013 and also a member when they won the 2015 Women's Six Nations.[3][4]
She also represented Ireland at the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup held in France where they had a historic victory over New Zealand's Black Ferns and finished fourth.[5][6]
She played for Ireland at the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup.[7]
In 2021 she was selected at scrum-half in the Irish women's Team of the Decade by the Front Row Union website.[8] She has amassed 48 caps for the Ireland women's rugby union team but was unavailable for selection in 2021 due to injury.
Honours
[edit]Ireland
[edit]- Women's Six Nations Championship - 2: 2013, 2015
- Grand Slam - 1: 2013
- Triple Crown - 2: 2013, 2015
Individual
[edit]- Front Row Union Irish Women's Team of the Decade 2010–2020
Coaching career
[edit]Muldoon obtained a Masters in Sports Management and Leadership from Cardiff Metropolitan University. She is a qualified teacher and coach. She worked as a Gaelic Games Development Officer for Dublin GAA in 2017 and from 2018 worked fulltime as a Development Officer for Leinster Rugby, specialising in promoting the game for girls and women.[9] She has worked as head coach of Ireland Under-18s, Railway Union, Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University and was Backs Coach of the Ireland Under-20s. In 2023 she participated in the Gallagher High Performance Academy during which time she joined the Ireland women's coaching team under Scott Bemand at 2023 WXV in Dubai.[10]
She moved into full time coaching in 2023, becoming Connacht Rugby's representative in the IRFU Women's National Talent Squad pathway staff. In 2025 she served as Attack & Skills Coach for Ireland at the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup. In 2026 she was appointed Connacht Women's Rugby Lead.[11]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Larissa answers 'Ireland's Call' at Women's Rugby World Cup". Roscommon Herald. 26 August 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ↑ "Donegal girls answering Ireland's call". Donegal News. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ↑ "Ireland Women Confirmed As Six Nations Champions". Irish Rugby. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ↑ Slattery, Will (22 March 2015). "As it happened: Scotland v Ireland, Women's Six Nations". The42. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ↑ "Irish women's rugby team record historic win over New Zealand". independent. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ↑ IRB.com (1 May 2014). "Ireland women to seek "another level"". Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
- ↑ Reporters, P. A. (10 August 2017). "Ireland hold on to record opening win over Australia at Women's Rugby World Cup". The Irish News. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ↑ "The Front Row Union Sport - Ireland Women: Team of the Decade". The Front Row Union Sport. 15 February 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
- ↑ ""It's about giving girls an opportunity to pick up a ball and have fun"". Leinster Rugby. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ↑ "Larissa Muldoon". Women's Rugby. 15 August 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
- ↑ "Larissa Muldoon appointed Connacht Women's Rugby Lead | 30th June 2026 | News". Connacht Rugby. 30 June 2026. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
External links
[edit]- 1991 births
- Living people
- Irish female rugby union players
- Ireland women's international rugby union players
- Irish expatriate rugby league players in England
- Irish schoolteachers
- Rugby union players from County Donegal
- Ireland international women's rugby sevens players
- Irish rugby sevens players
- Irish Exiles women's rugby union players
- Railway Union rugby union players
- Irish expatriate rugby union players in England
- Expatriate rugby league players in England
- People from Ballybofey
- Alumni of Cardiff Metropolitan University
- Rugby union scrum-halves
- Bristol Bears Women players
- 21st-century Irish sportswomen