Gillian McDarby, leading, is leaving her posts in Cycling Ireland and a career in banking for what sounds like an amazing opportunity with the IRFU
Having raced to international level and managed the women’s elite and junior Irish cycling teams up to this season, Gillian McDarby is leaving her cycling posts and a successful career in banking to manage the Irish women’s rugby sevens team.
The project involves a spend of €2.5 million over the next 2½ years as the IRFU goes all out to qualify the women’s sevens squad for the Rio Olympics in 2016.
McDarby will manage the operation, from team issues and logistics, to player welfare and the budget. She will also work closely with the board of the IRFU and other strategic partners in a post that combines her corporate and sporting pedigree.
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She bagged the full time post after a contest involving some 70 candidates and was informed last month the job was hers.
The 39-year-old Dubliner leaves her position in Ulster Bank this Friday after 15 years in the industry. She had climbed the corporate ladder to become a business development manager, financing new businesses in the food, drink and transport sectors.
“I really don’t think it’s sunk in, you know,” she said of her new job.
“When I first had a look at the job description it said rugby experience wasn’t a requirement and you could see they wanted somebody to manage the team, but also take control of the business end of things.”
“I felt I had a chance and I’ve been in sales in banking for 15 years and I just went in and sold myself and thankfully it worked out.”
“I’m delighted to be leaving the bank, but not in the sense that I would never go back to it. If it wasn’t for the bank I wouldn’t have the skills that have gotten me this job.”
“But for the past few years I’ve been working away building up my sporting CV; doing coaching qualifications, working with riders alongside Paddy Doran, managing teams, courses in massage and sports injury and tutoring coaches. I wanted to turn it into a full time career. It’s my passion in life and I really couldn’t have expected to get something as big as this so soon.”
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The Irish team needs to qualify for Rio by finishing in the top eight of the World 7s Series, in which they are currently seventh. If they fail to stay in the top eight they can also qualify through a number of other routes, including success on the European stage.
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“We’re obviously hoping we can do it by qualifying straight through the world series rather than doing it the hard way,” Mc Darby said.
“Everywhere the team goes now, I will go; whether it’s for competition or training. In February we’re going to Atlanta and Brazil, then in March we go to Hong Kong, we’re off to China in April and we’re in Holland in May. So that’s a flavor of the first half of next year.”
She said the IRFU was spending €1 million on the women’s sevens Olympic push next year and the year after, with a further €500,000 being spent in the first half of 2016 to the end of the qualification process.
“I am on contract until that qualification process is over, but the IRFU is also targeting the 2020 Games too, so who knows what can happen.”
The budget is significant, especially in comparison to the miniscule budgets McDarby would have had access to when managing Irish cycling teams on the road. However, the money is just one part of the operation the Sandyford woman now heads up.
The IRFU has built training facilities that include a gym and pitch exclusively for the women’s team. The facility is part of Dublin City University in Glasnevin in north Dublin and is situated just off the main Collins Avenue campus.
As well as McDarby managing the operation, the IRFU has also hired a team of other full time staff who will work exclusively with the women’s seven team and the bid to get them to Rio.
One of those is head coach Jon Skurrs who will drive selection choices, be responsible for squad training and development. McDarby will work very closely hand in hand with Skurrs.
“I’ll also be doing the performance reviews of the players and will deal with all of the player welfare issues; from education, financial welfare and so on. I will be the go to person for the players, the IRFU board and everyone else.”
The IRFU has also hired a physio, strength and conditioning coach and nutritionist to work full time with the squad.
And while the Irish female sevens internationals are not full time professionals like the men’s international rugby team, the IRFU is in the process of centralising the Sevens programme with the view to all squad members moving to Dublin as part of the drive to get to Rio.
“They’ll eat, sleep and breathe this,” McDarby said of the players.
“To get to the Olympics would be amazing; it is a fantastic project to be involved in. If we get there, that would have to be the highlight of my career, definitely it would have to be.”
McDarby, who takes up her role on December 28th, rode for the Irish Road Club and the Bagel Bar team in a career that saw her take a national championships gold medal in the track 500m.
She also held the 200 metre sprint national record for six years, was Leinster road race champion and represented Ireland many times including at the B world championships in Switzerland in 2003.
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