Ireland front row Linda Djougang says her refusal to be in any way complacent has been a key factor in achieving the consistency which has seen her become an almost ‘ever-present’ in the side and reach her 50th cap against Spain in Sunday’s Rugby World Cup game at Northampton.
The Cameroon-born prop has missed just one Ireland match since making her international debut against England in 2019.
“It feels amazing. I haven’t really thought about it until this week. When I started rugby I never dreamt of this. I never imagined I would reach this milestone,” said Djougang.
“Every game I just try to do my best. For me it means so much to show the other girls in the squad that they can get there too.
“For me to be that role model for them, there aren’t really words, but we have a job to do against Spain to make it even more special. We’ve been so focused on the game and getting everything right for Sunday.”
The 29-year-old says she never takes anything for granted as regards selection.
“You never want to feel comfortable. In each training session you want to put your hand up for selection. As we all know rugby is such an unpredictable game.
“I always train like I’m on the bench and I want to get on the starting team. This milestone shows me what I’m capable of and pushes me to want more.
“It’s nice to be reminded of the achievement and I’ll celebrate with the girls as my journey started with them and this landmark deserves to be celebrated with them.”
Ireland head coach Scott Bemand paid tribute to the impact made by Djougang, and her influence on the squad.
“Linda is an incredible person, an incredible player. She can play both sides of the scrum and has such a level of resilience and robustness.
“It’s an incredible feat of endurance, of getting better all the time. She’s right at the centre of where we’ve come from, what we are now and where we’re trying to go.
“Hopefully we give a performance to do this milestone proud.”
