Wallaroos debutant Tiarah Minns admits it was an overwhelming feeling to be named in the squad to face Ireland on Saturday as she reflects on her rocky road to Test Rugby.
Minns was named on the bench for Saturday's (AEST) Test in Belfast as one of three debutants.
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The call-up is credit for her hard work after a series of crushing knee injuries in previous years.
“It's been a tough journey to get to where I am today in terms of injuries,” she told Rugby.com.au.
“I did my PCL and MCL back in 2020 in the Rebels season then and did it in the first 10 minutes of the first game so I missed the entire season.
“Then at the end of 2022 I did the ACL, both meniscus, I think I had two tears in my lateral and one of my medial and some bone indents.
"I did a pretty good job of it.
“I was in a straight leg brace for about three weeks because of the meniscus. They had to do a lot to the knee because of the scar tissue so I had to have further surgery three months later to clear that.”
Minns credits the Melbourne Rebels for going above and beyond in her rehab journey, with the men's staff and players helping her as she ticked off box after box for her return to play.
"It embodied that one club culture and it speaks volumes of them and people like Luke Vella as head of Strength and Conditioning," she said
“…There were a lot of guys in and out that had programmed at a time, but I think for me, the big thing was even guys that weren't rehabbing were coming up to me and sharing their journey whether they come back from ACLs before (or not). People like Brad Wilkin were sharing what graft they’d had and the speed of things, he even let me borrow his game ready.
“My first lineout along in the ACL journey I didn’t have any access to the women’s program so it was actually the guys lifting me up in the air and doing multiple reps after they’d finished their training.
“(Rebels and Wallabies lineout coach) Geoff Parking did multiple extras after training and lineout analysis to help grow my game and my understanding so much to where I am now. All the coaches were great in lending a hand in terms of their knowledge.”
Even her journey in Wallaroos camp was met with hiccups, missing the start of the year with a shoulder complant.
However, the long days and nights in the rehab group paid off when she was named in the 23, soaking in the moment alongside fellow debutant Lucy Dinnen.
“It was really special. I think Lucy (Dinnen) and I have been roomies since for the last few camps, so it was really special to get that call up together," she added.
“The night before, we hadn't got the call that we hadn't got in so we were like, ‘Oh, maybe they forgot to call’ and so it was kind of that guessing game, but also just excitement building.
“I didn't want to jump the gun too much so I think we were sitting next to each other at the time and we're just glancing at each other so to get the call up for both of us was a pretty special moment.”
