Harlequins' Aoife Wafer cited the encouragement of her parents as being key to her professional journey ahead of Saturday's Big Game against Bristol Bears.

The Irish flanker will be participating in the mammoth clash, which sees Harlequins men's and women's teams play at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium as opposed to their regular home of Twickenham Stoop, for the first time.

In addition to playing professional rugby, the former Leinster player also studies physiotherapy at St Mary's University – having previously attended University College Dublin (UCD) in her homeland.

Naturally, balancing such diverse priorities is quite a challenge – but it is something the Irishwoman is well used to doing, having been encouraged by her parents to juggle multiple activities as a child.

She said: "I've been lucky that I've balanced a lot of things throughout my career.

"Even when I was a youngster, I balanced multiple different sports and rugby as well.

"Then my studies on top of that, music on top of that photography on top of that…

"Drilled is probably the wrong word but my parents always encouraged us to do multiple things because everything blends into each other eventually."

As well as singling out her parents for praise, Wafer also spotlighted the support of her universities as being crucial to her professional and academic development.

She said: "I've been lucky that the universities I've gone to in UCD and St Mary's are extremely supportive.

"They allow me to excel on the rugby pitch but also excel in an academic sense as well."

Harlequins men's and women's teams play at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham this weekend (credit: Nub News).

What is the Big Game?

The Big Game is one of the most highly anticipated matches in the London rugby calendar.

It is an annual event where both Quins men's and women's teams play at the 82,000 capacity Allianz Stadium – affectionately known as the 'Big Stoop' – as opposed to their 14,800-seat home ground.

The event is in its 17th year, having started in 2008, and is notable because it allows both sides to showcase their skills to a wider audience and attract new fans from south west London and beyond.

The match will be Wafer's first start of the season, having suffered a collarbone and medial collateral ligament injury in September's World Cup quarter final against France.

And after making her debut off the bench against Sale Sharks last week, the two-time Celtic Challenge winner is relishing the chance to participate in Quins' biggest game of the year.

She said: "I'm really excited, it's not every day you get to play at Twickenham as an Irish person.

"To be able to play there is extremely special and I've only heard good things about the walk over and how much support we get as a side."

The 2025 Six Nations Player of the Championship concluded by saying that her physiotherapy background gave her an edge during her recovery.

She said: "Every one of these injuries is like I'm on placement, I nerd out and look up Berica papers on whatever my injury is and just learn."

The Big Game 17 kicks off at 3pm on Saturday 20 December.

READ MORE: Sandys Fishmongers issues update following death of owner Stuart Sandys.

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