SO GOOD TO TALK SAYS IRELAND'S BRITTANY

AMBASSADOR: Rugby player Brittany Hogan has teamed up with Rugby Players Ireland to launch the revamped Tackle Your Feelings (TYF) Schools online teaching platform

- BY MICHAEL SCULLY

AN encounter with a supporter after Ireland's World Cup win over Japan underlined to Brittany Hogan that she was right to speak out about the abuse she suffered as a child.

The Ulster player had previously revealed that, growing up, she was a victim of child sexual abuse and that she believed rugby saved her life when she started playing it at the age of 15.

In a BBC interview she spoke of the abuse, and how she found the “confidence and courage” to reveal it to her mum after seeing a character in a TV show experience something similar.

Now an ambassador for Tackle Your Feelings - the positive mental wellbeing campaign run by Rugby Players Ireland, the representative body for professional rugby players in the country ambassador - Hogan explained the impact that speaking out for the first time a couple of years ago has had, on and off the pitch.

“Showing vulnerability allows people to connect with you,” she said.

“And if I show my vulnerability, it gives you more of a chance to show yours.

“It gives you more courage, it gives you more confidence to enlighten me with anything that you're going through.