Lucy Dinnen set to realise Wallaroo dream after rollercoaster ride

By Paul Eddison

Lucy Dinnen’s path to an Australia cap has been slowed by army commitments, malaria, Covid postponements and even a pregnancy but after 10 long years, she is finally a Wallaroo.

It was all the way back in 2014, when the back-rower was just 21, that Dinnen was first called into an Australia training camp.

But at the time, the Wallaroos played very little international 15s rugby, and with Dinnen combining her rugby with army commitments, that first cap never quite came.

She recalled: “We didn’t have many international Test matches, if we were lucky it was one a year against New Zealand.

“I was in the army, so I was in and out of Australia. I was deployed for a little bit. I was a recruiter and an instructor. I would be in Wagga Wagga which was the initial deployment training, so when you first come off the bus as a civilian, you get yelled at. That was me, I was the person yelling, I’m the drill instructor. It was great fun, maybe not for them, but for me it was great.

“I also trained to be a teacher. I got my bachelor of secondary education as a science teacher and also PE.”

Having trained as a teacher, Dinnen departed overseas, moving to England where she taught at a school for vulnerable children.

It was a rewarding experience and one that saw her travel with 11 of those young children to Zambia.

She said: “They chose me because of my military background, just in case something happened!

“It was a really good experience, we linked up with a charity over there. We went into schools and orphanages and gave the kids a view of what it is like to grow up in a third world country.

“Unfortunately, one of the kids lost their malaria tablets. Me being a teacher, I said: ‘You can have my malaria tablets’. I thought it wouldn’t happen to me. But a couple of weeks later, I was in hospital with malaria.”

A week in hospital back in England followed, with the initial thought that Dinnen had just picked up a tummy bug. But after rushing home before the borders in Australia closed for Covid, she was diagnosed with malaria.

Having recovered from that, and after a brief return to the army to work on their malaria unit – of all things – Dinnen was back pushing for a Wallaroos selection.

Once again, fate intervened.

“I was with the Wallaroos, training with the girls and we were going to have a Test match against New Zealand,” she said.

“Then Covid got more serious and it was postponed, and the World Cup was too. During that postponement, I fell pregnant with my daughter.”

Daughter Zoe arrived in 2022 and she is already a diehard rugby fan. The following year, Dinnen broke her ankle but finally this year, after a move to Perth to play for the Western Force, her dream has come true.

She was called up for a tour of the northern hemisphere, with warm-up games against Ireland and Wales, and will now take her place in the team that takes on the Welsh in Australia’s WXV 2 opener in South Africa.

Zoe was there for her debut in Ireland, coming over with Dinnen’s husband and mum, and after all that time waiting and all the hardships, the debut was worth the wait.

She said: “As soon as they gave me the cap, I was in tears. It’s been pretty difficult mentally. It’s hard to try to come back from a baby but also to keep pushing to try to achieve your goals.

“At times I had to take a step back and I even blocked the Wallaroos on Instagram. I wasn’t on social media because every time the team came out, it was hard because I wanted to be there and I was trying so hard. So I took a step back to try to find my love for the game again.”

That move west helped Dinnen rediscover her passion for the game. A decade on from that first call-up, she has achieved her dream.