Just a few months after arriving in Loughborough and training with the university team, Aoibhe (pronounced Ava) was thrust into the Lightning set-up when they were without injured scrum-half options Leia Brebner-Holden and Megan Davey at the start of 2026.
Aged only 18, the Ireland U18 international who played for Leinster prior to her move to England, made her Lightning and Premiership Women’s Rugby debut off the bench against defending champions Gloucester-Hartpury in February 2026.