Image source, InphoImage caption, Anna McGann and Eve Higgins have been friends since they were 16
ByLauren McCannBBC Sport NI Journalist- Published6 minutes ago
Best friends Anna McGann and Eve Higgins have been driving forces behind Ireland's 'green wave' for their performances on the pitch for their country and off the pitch with their TikToks.
Sharing a combined following of over 33,000 on the platform, the duo have gained popularity for their lip-syncs, dances and insights into the Ireland camp during tournaments.
Despite their natural ability to bounce off each other in their videos, McGann admitted it was difficult to get Higgins on board with her ideas in the beginning.
"At the start I'd ask Eve and she'd be like 'no' and then I eventually got her and once I got her she was hooked and here we are," McGann told the Ireland Rugby Social podcast.
"Eve will come up with hilarious ones. It was so easy when we were rooming at the World Cup together. The girls in the room beside us said all you could hear was silence and then giggles of us thinking of something!
"We'll both save things and when we see each other we'll be like 'do you want to do that one?' and it's infectious," added Higgins.
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'Eve and the girls were so good and a reason why I came out of my shell'
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Higgins and McGann played for Ireland Sevens at the Paris Olympics in 2024 and for the 15s at the 2025 World Cup in England
McGann was not always as confident as her persona on TikTok suggests and credits Higgins for helping her come out of her shell.
The two first met at an Ireland sevens camp in Dublin at 16 and have stayed friends during their rise from playing for the sevens at the Olympics in 2024 to representing the 15s at a World Cup last year and various editions of the Six Nations.
"The first time I met Anna was a sevens camp at DCU [Dublin City University], there was a girl the side of the pitch not saying much. She didn't speak really until our first Dubai Invitational and then you were like 'who is this?'" Higgins joked.
"I was so shy. I think Eve and the girls were so good and a reason as to why I came out of my shell and was so comfortable and that didn't happen until I was 21-22," McGann explained.
"They helped shape me into the person I am and be more comfortable to be myself."
Despite their closeness, Higgins says the two have never had a falling out, even though they share a room together during Ireland camps.
"Eve and I roomed together for five weeks at the World Cup and somehow we're not sick of each other," McGann said.
"We would know if we need to give each other space. That's the best thing we have. We've known each other so long and have grown," Higgins added.
As mentioned, both players made the transition from sevens to 15s rugby alongside countless others in Scott Bemand's current squad.
Higgins believes that is the case for so many because it was the only real pathway available for players of her generation to play in a professional environment.
"It's mostly because there's not provincial teams for women. Sevens was an opportunity for women's rugby players to train every week.
"Thankfully now there's a women's programme, so there's 15s and sevens but at the time only seven players were contracted to train week in week out. That was the pathway for us to play semi-professional rugby."
'When we're good, we're really good'
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, McGann scored Ireland's first try against England after coming off the bench
Higgins started at centre while McGann came off the bench and scored a try as Ireland suffered a 33-12 defeat against England in their opening Six Nations game in front of a record of 77,120 at Allianz Stadium.
Bemand's side made a slow start against the world champions and trailed 21-0 at half-time with Higgins citing "uncharacteristic errors" as a big issue in the first half.
"We created chances and pictures we knew we would see and it was frustrating that the phase before something would happen.
"Even at half-time we knew we saw pictures we were prepared for and could take, it was about doing the simple things well - placement of the ball and blasting through the ruck, things we could actually control and not let England come on top of us which they did in the first half. It was small things that let us down that were basics.
"We're happy the second half went as it did. I think you saw glimpses of what we could do."
McGann revealed that Bemand was "brutally honest" in their review session of the game on Monday but that players knew themselves mistakes that were made that they are desperate to correct in their first home game against Italy at the Dexcom Stadium on Saturday.
"He showed all the errors we made and the missed opportunities. He didn't sugar coat them. We all knew, it wasn't something we didn't know and it was more frustrating that there are such simple fixes. We focused on those and once we did that it was Italy next.
"We know off the back of last week we didn't show enough and how capable we are, so we're all excited to show how good we are; when we're good, we're really good."
