'She wears her heart on her sleeve': Inside the rise of Ireland captain Erin King

“I know she’ll go to war for me, and vice versa,” says Edel McMahon of Erin King. One Ireland captain to another.

There was a moment that summed up King, the player sand person, to perfection, during Ireland’s victorious tour to South Africa. The full-time whistle had sounded in the first Test and Ireland, after their 40-27 win, were walking around the pitch, applauding supporters.

“It’s hard to put it into words,” said King. “We really felt the crowd, through and through, even though they were against us, at times. But we’re so lucky, and feel so privileged, to be able to play in such a beautiful country, in a place where rugby means more than life.”

Remarkably articulate, and gracious, after 80 minutes of all-out scrap against a combative South African side. You could not miss the blood stains spattered across her white jersey. King had broken her nose in the game. Patch-up work would be required. She could have cared less. It was all about the win, and taking one giant step towards more history for this Irish side.

King turned 23 just three days before leading Ireland on the first of their two WXV Global Series encounters against the Springbok Women. Ireland were triumphant, that day, and followed up that result with another victory at Athlone Stadium on October 31st. With it, Scott Bemand’s side secured a first ever series win for an Irish side in South Africa.

“We’re very, very proud of the group,” King reflected. “It wasn’t easy, but the girls stuck with it. We managed to do it, so I’m just delighted. The group are really happy. For the global series, as a whole, you’ve seen us grow and grow into the tournament, build on that momentum and show what we’re capable of.”

The flanker, who was born in Australia to English parents, moved to Blessington, in County Wicklow, at the age of 12. She started playing rugby with friends, at Naas Rugby Club, before moving to Belvedere when she was called into Leinster’s underage set-up. King was part of an Under-18 side that featured current Ireland teammates Aoife Wafer, Dannah O’Brien, Aoife Dalton, Ruth Campbell and Vicky Elmes-Kinlan.

King initially made her name in sevens, helping Ireland Women qualify for the 2024 Olympics, in Paris, and a run to the quarter finals. She switched to XVs, later that year, and was a sensation in WXV 1 victories over USA and the Black Ferns. Such was her impact, King was named World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year. When I spoke to her, soon after she arrived back from Monaco with that trophy resting in the back seat of her car, King was targeting greater deeds that would see her make the World Rugby Women’s 15s Dream Team of the Year. That ambition, and so much more, was thwarted by a dreadful knee injury, in 2025.

She was forced to sit out the World Cup and, in darker moments, feared her playing days could be over.

The road back was arduous but King got an encouraging medical update and clung to it. She returned to play for the Wolfhounds on 3 January 2026.

Less than two weeks later, it was confirmed she was Ireland’s new captain. Last week she was ranked 27th on the RugbyPass Top 50 Women’s Rugby Players 2026.

“When I first came in,” said King, “Sam Monaghan and Tricky (McMahon) were my captains, and they made me feel so welcoming. They made me feel really at home in the squad, so it didn’t take long to feel like I belonged. That’s down to the culture that the girls created.

“When I started, I wasn’t the biggest fan of mauling, I think I cried after my first maul session. I was like, ‘I don’t know if this is for me’. It has come a long way, since then. To be the captain of this team is still a bit of a pinch me moment. It’s an absolute honour.”

McMahon, who was sharing captaincy duties with Monaghan in 2024, has a different recollection of King’s early training sessions with the XVs. “We were in High Performance Centre and Alex Codling had just come in as our new lineout coach. That was an area of the game that we started to be excellent at. There’s quite a lot of skill involved in it, individual athleticism, along with learning on the go.

“As a forward pack, I loved how we excelled in it and Erin was a massive part of that. She was so athletic – her speed and quality in the air, those one-man lifts. She just thrived in it. The first thing that stood out to me was her raw ability and her skill. She is so skilful and she backs it up with her work-rate.

“We had a good few sevens girls come in, at that time, for our Australia warm-up, and had four new caps in that game. That entire WXV tour was unbelievable. Erin was a massive part of bringing that off-field fun, as well as on-field competitiveness.”

 

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“Honestly,” McMahon adds, “some of them youngsters are absolute nutters. They are so liable to get tattoos after nights out, or after campaigns. They like to mark a campaign with a tattoo. Ruth Campbell is the tattoo artist of the squad. She definitely has a couple of new ones, since I was last in. Erin and Niamh O’Dowd, too.”

Asked if King is as blissful positive away from match-days and media duties, McMahon laughs. “What you see is what you get with Erin,” she replies, “and that’s similar with a lot of the girls. She has every right to be positive, after what she went through. She had a very tough time, being on sidelines for almost a year, and not knowing what her future held… She was starting to go on her rise, and then had it taken away from her. But it shows her character, alone, to come out the other side of it. She was so willing to use that time as an opportunity, rather than a loss. She has really taken every day as it comes, as a positive, because she’s been so grateful to be back in that green jersey.

“Erin wears her heart on her sleeve. She works unbelievably hard. She wants to die on the pitch, in a green jersey fighting for Ireland. That is Erin to a tee.”

King had not accumulated 10 caps for Ireland’s senior side when Bemand, recognising what others around him had seen, elevated her to the captaincy.

McMahon is well placed to know what the title entails. “It’s a hard role,” McMahon notes, “but the team and staff are so understanding, to help you along. Like, I had every assurance that she would grow into the role. It just takes time.

“Like, I was not perfect, Sam wasn’t perfect, and we needed time. We needed people to be patient with us, as well, as we got to grips of how things were going to operate. How we were going be the best versions of captains, ourselves. I can see Erin growing into it, and she is excelling as the campaigns have gone on. You can even see it in her conversations with the refs. You’re seeing her now posing those questions, talking about penalty counts, making sure she is just keeping in the ear of the ref, but not too much that she’s also getting on the bad side of them.

“She was so grateful when she found out. When she got offered the role, she reached out to both me and Sam to thank us for everything that we had done.

That is just the type of person she is, and the respect we all have for each other. I’m hopefully looking forward to being back in camp and getting my opportunity to be led by her. now.”

For all the personal accolades and team achievements, one of King’s proudest moments in recent years was being invited back to Blessington Community College, her old school. “I went in and did a full day, speaking with every year,” she beamed. “I told them my story, about how quickly you can become a professional athlete. How it is sometimes easy to stop believing and how there are definitely bad days, but to keep chasing. How you can come from Blessington and still make it.”

The journey continues, next year, with France and England coming to Ireland for what should be a keenly contested Six Nations. If fitness and form hold, King looks certain for a place in the inaugural British & Irish Lions Women squad. History beckons. Campbell may have to get practicing her Lions logo tattoos.