Zac Ward had a very traditional first meeting with his girlfriend Blaithin.
The Ireland International 7’s and Ulster player is originally from County Down, while Blaithin hails from West Cork, but the couple initially bumped into each other in Dublin.
He explained that when they started dating it got “pretty serious, pretty quickly” and they have been together for two years now.
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Zac, who is an ambassador for the Tackle Your Feelings campaign, shared that a nightclub was the setting of their first meeting.
He told RSVP Live: “We met in Dublin. I was living in Dublin with the 7s and she’s from west Cork, a small town called Ballydehob, it’s pretty far away.
“We met on a night out. We bumped into each other and from then on it got pretty serious, pretty quickly and we haven’t looked back since. We’re going on two years now. It’s been really, really enjoyable.
“We had the chance to live together from February, but now that I’m up in Ulster, I’m moving back up north. Hopefully, in a year or two she might come up and brave the north.”
The rugby player added: “It was nice meeting in person. I bumped into her and hoped that she would accept a drink that I was trying to buy for her.”
“I tried a few times and she eventually gave in,” he joked.
Being in a relationship with an athlete can be difficult, with Zac admitting that the ups and downs of sport is challenging for the person competing, but also for those in their lives.
The Ireland International 7’s were expected to medal at the Olympics, but the team was left disappointed when they finished sixth.
Zac admitted that his girlfriend was a great support for him after Paris 2024.
He shared: “Personally for me, my girlfriend was massively beneficial when I came home from the Games. It was amazing, but I wasn’t in a place to talk about it. I was still hurting from the results.
“She was great at keeping me busy. We went on loads of walks. We went to West Cork for a couple of days. We didn’t have our phones and we didn’t talk about it. It was nice to take my mind off of everything that was going on.”
He continued: “Then after a couple of days, I delved into what was going on in my head and what was going on in her head. A lot of it is on the athletes, but it’s a lot for families and partners too. There’s a lot of pressure that goes with it.
“She told me that she was so conscious of saying the right or wrong thing that might throw me off playing. It was nice for us both to talk about our own experiences around the Olympics.
“We said how great it was and moved on.”
For more information on Tackle Your Feelings follow the Instagram account @tyf or visit the website www.tackleyourfeelings.com which will share videos, updates on events and competitions.
English (US) ·