Leadership, injury and pet peeves - the making of Ireland's King

From being told she might not ever run again to taking the Ireland captaincy at 22, it has been a whirlwind 12 months for Erin King. She had just returned from a year-long knee injury when she got called into Ireland head coach Scott Bemand's office. Initially she thought she was in trouble, but the question could not have been further from that as Bemand asked her to lead Ireland into the Six Nations.

After a career-threatening injury, it was a huge show of faith to a player who only had six caps to her name. "I'm not normally speechless, but I was a little bit speechless in that moment," King told the Ireland Rugby Social podcast. "I was immensely proud and it was an absolute privilege and honour to get to be asked to captain such an amazing team.

"I already felt like I was living a dream, getting to play alongside these legends, but to lead them out is just beyond my wildest dreams. " 'Emotional' King ready for Ireland return 'Rugby made me feel accepted' King's journey to the Women's Six Nations was not conventional. Born in Australia to English parents, she moved around the world a lot when she was young.

A kid full of energy, she was introduced to rugby at a young age - so young in fact there is a photo of her outside the stadium at the Rugby World Cup final in 2003 in Sydney, when she was just a few weeks old. The Irish connection came from her grandfather and, after living in Dubai, she moved to Wicklow as she started secondary school. Reflecting on that time in her life, King said rugby became "the one constant".