Women’s Rugby World Cup: Ireland’s Brittany Hogan used rugby to cope with death of her father

Ireland back row Brittany Hogan said she has used rugby as a way to cope with the grief of losing her father suddenly in 2023.

Ahead of her first appearance at the Women’s Rugby World Cup, Hogan has opened up about the impact of her father’s and grandfather’s deaths and how the support of her team-mates helped her get through a difficult time.

“I lost my dad two years ago and then my grandad in August. They were two father figures in my life that are gone, and I am playing for them,” the 26-year-old told BBC Sport NI’s Orla Bannon.

“My dad got stung by a wasp on the way home from work and went into anaphylactic shock. He had to pull over in the car and my little sister was calling people to help, so without her or the help of the air ambulance, we wouldn’t have been able to say goodbye.

“It was traumatic and tragic, it was a hard period of time, but we’ve had a few more sudden deaths in the group, and we’ve grown to know how to deal with it and we rallied around each other.”