Lockdown to Test lock for Monaghan

THERE WAS a slight mix-up when Sam Monaghan was first called into the Ireland squad last year. Somehow her statistics got confused with men’s No 8 CJ Stander, who retired after winning 51 caps for his adopted country. “The computer had me as 6ft 3in, 117kg, South African and 31 years old,” she laughs. “Sadly I’m not 6ft 3in or 117kg – I wish I was! I don’t know what happened but it gave us a laugh. One of my nicknames is South African Sam!”

Here are a few facts and figures we got from the 5ft 11in second-row herself: she was born