EdelMcMahon

One of three new faces to arrive at the Chiefs in the summer of 2022 from Allianz Premier 15s rivals, Wasps Women, Edel 'Tricky' McMahon was a welcome addition to the Exeter pack of forwards.

McMahon won an All-Ireland Intermediate club title in ladies Gaelic football with her club Kilmihil in 2008 when she was aged 13, lining out in goals in a team trained by her father Tom.

A chance meeting with a rugby player when she went to study at the National University of Ireland, Galway, in 2012 prompted her towards rugby and, within five years, she was playing for Ireland.

Her first senior club was Galwegians RFC before she furthered her development with Connacht at interprovincial level. After the 2019 Women's Six Nations, prompted by Claire Molloy, she decided to move to England to get Premier 15s experience and joined Wasps.

In the English game, McMahon has established herself as one of the division's top turnover queens, posing a notable threat to opposition attacks around the breakdown.

In 2023, she got the honour of captaining her country in the WXV3 tournament in Dubai, where Ireland successfully won all their games to win the tournament. McMahon was also selected as co-captain for the 2024 Six Nations where they finished third to gain qualification for the Rugby World Cup. She also captained the side when Ireland beat the Black Ferns in WXV1 in September 2024 and was selected as co-captain for Rugby World Cup 2025.

Find out more about McMahon in our programme interview here.

Player number #64