The Blessington flanker made her international debut in September and made a huge impact in her four Ireland appearances to date including scoring two tries in the 29-27 win over New Zealand in the WXV1 in September.

King is the first Irish female player to win an individual player award at the World Rugby awards with Joy Neville receiving the referee award in 2017.

King came out on top in the breakthrough category which included England’s Maddie Feaunati, Caitlyn Halse of Australia and New Zealand’s Hannah King.

The prestigious award caps a remarkable year for King (21) who became a key player in the transformation of the team this autumn. After she became an Olympian in Paris with the women’s 7s team, King was named in an Ireland 15s squad for the first time by head coach Scott Bemand a month later.

She made her Ireland debut as a replacement in the 36-10 win over Australia in Belfast in September and she made a big first impression with her powerful ball carrying which saw her beat three defenders during 10 carries in a 29-minute cameo.

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It was just the fourth time that King played a senior 15-a-side game after three club games for Old Belvedere in the 2021/22 season.

From there, there was no stopping King. She made a decisive impact off the bench in Ireland’s win over the Black Ferns in the opening game of the WXV1 in Vancouver later that month.

She replaced captain Edel McMahon in the backrow and less than 20 minutes later she scored her first international try. With Ireland trailing 22-27, it was King’s second try in the 78th minute that levelled the score before Dannah O’Brien kicked the winning conversion.

King made her first start for Ireland in the 21-8 defeat to Canada the following week and she topped the stats for the Irish team in tackles made (16), turnovers won (2) and she stole a lineout.

In their final game of the WXV1, King was named player of the match and scored a try in their 26-14 victory over the USA which helped Ireland to an outstanding second place overall finish. The Wicklow woman continued to accelerate in her role as part of a dynamic backrow beside Aoife Wafer and Brittany Hogan.

King – who was born in Sydney before the family returned to Ireland when she was 12 – isn’t unused to making a splash. Her incredible strength as she lifted team-mate Emily Lane for a restart in a game at the Paris Olympics went viral on social media.

King is now back in the 7s programme with the new season starting next weekend. Next year she is set to play in the Women’s Six Nations for the first time and it’s also a World Cup year.

And on the biggest of stages, watch King’s star continue to rise.