Behind the Player: Maeve Liston

In our series, Behind the Player in association with Deloitte, Ulster’s Women players share a little bit about themselves, their player pathway and their influences.

This week, Ulster Rugby spoke to Blackrock College RFC, Ulster and Ireland Sevens player, centre Maeve Liston.

Tell us a little about your rugby pathway to date.

I have played a lot of sports since I was really young. I played Gaelic football and basketball to quite a high standard from age 13 to 18. I played for Donegal and Donegal Town Basketball Club which was in the national league. I played for club and county so my parents were bringing me to and from training for years. When I was doing my Leaving Cert, I thought it would be a good time to take a step back from all that travelling and focus on study. It was getting towards the winter-time in 2014 and I was getting a bit restless. I felt I needed some kind of outlet. The local club, Ballyshannon RFC had a few women I knew there. They asked me to come along, which I did. I had no idea what I was doing! I was just enjoying running around. I played my first game after only a couple of weeks; I came on in the second half on the wing, caught the ball and just ran. I fell in love with it.

Rugby took a step up when I was playing for the club for a few months and Ulster trials were coming up in the summer of 2015. A few of the girls from Ballyshannon were going and they asked me if I wanted to go. I thought I’d give it a crack. I didn’t have an idea about the technical side of the game; all I knew was to pass the ball backwards, run with the ball and try and tackle. I didn’t make it onto the Ulster matchday 23, but I was delighted to be in the extended squad. I have to thank my dad for driving me to Portadown twice a week. He and my mum were brilliant. After my Leaving Cert, I went to Cardiff in Wales for university during the 2015 Men’s Rugby World Cup. That was unbelievable to be in among that in Wales. You can’t not play rugby in Wales! I joined my uni rugby team and decided to take my training to the next level to see how far I could go, and got in contact with Bristol, the Premier15s team. I went over the bridge and back to Bristol and trained twice a week there. I had games on Wednesdays through uni and at the weekends with Bristol, so I got a lot of rugby under my belt! At Bristol, I was surrounded by international players from Wales, England and Ireland, with the likes of Claire Molloy, Sarah Hunter, Amber Reed, and Nolli Waterman. I just took whatever I could to learn from them.

In the 2016 Inter-Pros, I started to come back to Ulster for a few weekend camps. That December, I got my first Ulster cap at Kingspan Stadium which was a big one! I still wasn’t a very confident player then! I finished uni and didn’t play the next season for Ulster because I was on placement. Once I moved home, the Inter-Pros moved to the summer and played that summer. I moved to Belfast that September and played for Cooke in the AIL. I moved to Dublin and got involved in the Sevens programme, since last October, and joined Blackrock RFC. That takes us up to now.

Who have been your main influences in your rugby career?

What barriers have you had to overcome to reach this point?

I’m experiencing a bit of a barrier at the moment. I was in training with the Sevens squad and felt like I was getting more comfortable with everything, but in January, I ruptured my ACL and had to have surgery. I’ve been rehabbing by myself for a good few months. I’m very lucky to have a physio on-hand and I can call her. We would do one-to-one sessions but rehabbing during COVID is very different to normal circumstances. I didn’t have the matches to watch and yearn to play. Selfishly, I didn’t have that fear of missing out. On the other hand, it was a bit more isolating, because I could do my gym sessions with the gym before. I just had to focus on getting it done as it would be worth it further down the line. I hope to be back playing in a month.

I fractured my eye socket playing in a university game and had to get two surgeries. I still not quite make a tackle as efficiently to protect myself from getting the same injury. Over time, those things will just go to the back of your mind.

What have you been up to in the last few months?

Rehab has definitely taken up a lot of my time. From when we went into lockdown in March, I was at a critical point because I wasn’t at the beginning of rehab when you can’t do much. It was an important time for loading and building back my strength. I was lucky I had some gym equipment to use at home. The weather was amazing in Donegal – there’s nowhere else you’d rather be – you could be in Spain! I went out for lots of walks and went for a dip in the sea and could train outside.

How did you stay motivated?

I felt as if I had more motivation than someone who had no idea when rugby would be back. My time period of recovery was nine months, and in nine months, I’ll either be back playing or training. I always had an end goal during this time. I also set myself small goals like testing that I needed to do well on before moving on to the next goal. I had to get better at landing a jump and changing direction. I had all those little goals I needed to hit which made it more exciting. If you look back to where you were in January, you wouldn’t notice how far you’ve come without tracking the little wins. Knowing that rugby will be back motivates me too. It’s getting back now so I just had to think positively.

What tips would you give about how to keep fit?

The most important thing is finding something you enjoy. If you don’t want to go out and run 10K, why would you do it to yourself? You want to do something you like, whether that’s out for a walk with the dog or going to the beach. It’s key to staying active. If you feel like you don’t have much motivation in yourself, gym classes and activities with other people would help.

Have you got any healthy eating advice?

I would very much say 80-20 is a good rule. Eat well 80% of the time and treat yourself 20% of the time. Everyone knows they feel better when they eat better. For me, I’ve changed my mindset to what I’m eating is fuelling my body for recovery and getting stronger. A chocolate bar isn’t going to help me long-term with getting strong again, so I just think about my goals and food definitely helps you align with those. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good jam donut or scone once in a while!

What do you do to relax?  

When I go back to Donegal, I love going for a walk around Roguey which is a walk around the sea which is close to my house. The calmness of it is something I really try not to take for granted. I love to go into the sea for a swim too. I’d enjoy being out by myself; I wouldn’t wear earphones because it’s so nice and peaceful. I would listen to music at home as well. I’ve started reading a little more too.

Have you got any streaming recommendations?

I finished three seasons of ‘Selling Sunset’ on Netflix in a couple of weekends! It probably wasn’t the best thing to do but I thought that show was brilliant. It’s so far from normality, it was a complete outlet for me. Other than that, I’d rather watch something that doesn’t take much concentration.

What has been the best advice you’ve received?

What have been your proudest moments in rugby?

Even though I didn’t make the Ulster squad in my first year playing, I’d say it was a big achievement to be in the extended training squad. The year I got my first Ulster cap was a big moment in my career. It had built up quite a bit and I don’t know if I was ready for it with it being at Kingspan, the home of Ulster Rugby, playing against Munster at full-back! It was a big day for me and I can look back and say it wasn’t my greatest game, but it was a tick off the list and I’m proud to have that.

I got a couple of games in the Premier 15s, playing at Twickenham Stoop against Harlequins. That was terrifying!

I captained my university rugby team in my third year which was amazing. In my second year, we played at the Principality Stadium against Swansea University. My parents came to watch the game which was great.

Last year, I was nominated for the Deloitte Women’s Player of the Year Award. To get nominated was amazing and I was very proud.

I went to Spain in October and Dubai before Christmas with the Irish Sevens development team which was an incredible experience.

Do you have a pre-match song you always listen to?

I wouldn’t be into sitting on my own with my headphones on. It’s very easy to get into your own head and feel overwhelmed going into a game. I try to separate myself from that and just chat with the girls and have a laugh. If the speaker is on, we’d have a dance around the changing room. Once I leave the changing room and go onto the pitch, that’s when my business side switches on. Before that, I try to chill out and not stress too much. You’d like to think the work is done already and you don’t need to psych yourself up too much or get stressed about what you need to do. All you have to do is go out and enjoy it.

What are your rugby aspirations?

You can’t not say that you want to play for Ireland, whether that’s Sevens or 15s. I’d take either! A good career playing for Ireland would definitely be what I want.

This year, with the AIL, Blackrock is gunning for it this season so we want to try and top the league.

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