What does it really take to be a Six Nations champion? Tania Rosser talks diet, fitness and tips from the top

When Tania Rosser returned to the Irish women's rugby squad last year following a four-year break away from the game, she felt a renewed vigour for the sport.

Over the last few weeks, that passion has been rewarded with victory after victory, as Ireland's fierce women's rugby team have shown exactly why they are front and centre when it comes to catapulting the sport into the spotlight both here and abroad - and all done while the members of the team either worked or studied full-time.

The beaming face of scrum-half Tania was worth a thousand words as the Irish women's team raised the 2015 Six Nations trophy in Scotland. Tania's four-year break caused her to miss out on their 2013 Grand Slam success, which made Sunday's victory extra sweet.

"It was fantastic. The ladies played so well. I'm delighted for everyone involved," Tania says of the win. "Everyone was very calm and relaxed ahead of the game. We were lucky we knew what we needed to do after the French ladies beat England on Saturday."

So, how did they celebrate?

"There was a lot of singing and we were out for a while as a squad," she says.

The 36-year-old had suffered a shoulder injury and that, combined with a loss of passion for the game, led her to decide on early retirement.

However, when she returned in time for her third World Cup in 2014, she was in the best shape of her life.

Tania picked up the injury during a pool game again the US in 2010, which required her shoulder to be reconstructed.

But during her four-year break, she managed - with the expert help of physiotherapist Ailbe McCormack, who Tania describes as her "god" - to build the area back up to full strength. While getting back onto the Irish team was never Tania's intention, it has been a dream opportunity for her.

"Last year my dad had a serious accident back in New Zealand and nearly passed away, and after that I just wanted to get fit and strong, and I wanted to play good rugby," Tania says.

"It wasn't my aim to get back into the Irish team, but I was playing good rugby with Blackrock every weekend, training twice a week with them and training by myself up to five or six times a week - whether it was in the gym or out doing cardio - and I was the fittest and strongest I had been in a good few years. So I managed to get back in and my attitude now is I don't know when it is all going to be taken away, so I give it all I've got.

"Heading back into the Irish camp at first was a little bit nerve-wracking. But the girls were great, they were so welcoming and made it easy for me to come back," she adds.

To get a sense of what it takes to be on the Irish women's rugby team, one only has to look at Tania's hectic schedule, which sees her expertly balancing family, work and training commitments on a daily basis.

"Having to train two mornings and two evenings a week can be tough at times with a full-time job and a family," Tania says. "I have to juggle things around with work and getting my seven-year-old son to school and all his sporting activities. My training is either done at lunchtime or late in the evening when my son is in bed."

And it's even more full-on for her when it's the international season (see panel).

"Most weekends are filled with training or travelling for games so I miss a lot of family time with [my son]Serge and [my partner] Simon. I've missed a lot of Serge's swimming lessons and gymnastics, which isn't great at all," Tania says.

"I don't think they've missed many of my matches. I'm extremely lucky too that my work - I am the Business Development Manager with Fitzers Catering - also fully supports me, so training at lunchtime isn't a problem and they also look after my nutritional needs through our 'Vibrant Catering' division".

Determination is not lacking in this 5ft 5in scrum-half; Tania famously returned to the rugby pitch just three months after giving birth to Serge.

"I was quite lucky back then, during my pregnancy, and I was helping them out with a management role in the Irish women's team and when I went back I had Serge with me - so if I needed to go off and look after him or feed him, I did," Tania says. "I surrounded myself with a really good strength-and-conditioning coach at that time and a really good physio; they really helped me out to get back on the pitch as soon as I could really.

"I kept up a lot of my exercises right up until the birth. I was swimming right up until the day before," Tania adds. "So I kept my fitness up. I played touch rugby until I was six months pregnant. A lot of women think that they don't have time to go back and do sport afterwards, but I was really lucky. I have a really fantastic partner who supports all of my sporting activities and back then I had the Irish women's rugby team, too, who helped me during the camps to look after him. I had a really good support network."

Tania, who has now won more than 57 caps for Ireland, moved to Dublin in 2000 and quickly came to the attention of Leinster, with an Irish call-up a short time later.

She began her rugby days as a child in New Zealand. Rosser attended Karamu High School and Wanganui University in New Zealand where she became a teacher. While there, she taught current Crusaders and All Blacks full-back Israel Dagg.

"My older brothers would have played rugby and throughout school we would have played touch rugby, so it was just a natural progression from that," Tania says. "My mum and dad are rugby fanatics, so we lived at the rugby club."

While the recent successes of Ireland's female rugby players seem to have finally attracted some well-earned attention and support for the game here, there continues to be a definite divide between the resources and funding allocated to Irish female rugby team as opposed to the men's sport.

However, with the Irish women continuing to prove that they are every bit as dedicated, professional and fierce as their male counterparts, not to mention their sensational performances in the last World Cup and that roaring Six Nations success in 2013, the times are thankfully a changing.

"When I first started out, we were sleeping in B&Bs or staying in each others' houses for the camps. We never stayed in hotels, we were training ourselves, doing our own conditioning, now we are put up in camps every weekend to train together and we have got a professional strength and conditioning coach and a nutritionist looking after us," Tania says.

"It has come on but it has taken a while. I think how well we did in the World Cup [in 2013] has pushed it on again.

"So we have just got to keep performing and keep a positive light on the game and continue to grow the sport and the support.

"I'd like to see more coaches available to all the club teams, so that they can grow the players at grassroots level. And then just making sure that in the professional set-up, that the girls are getting looked after as they should because it can be tough going into camp and slogging away and then you have to do your own thing to get by during the week."

In terms of mental fitness, Tania likes to keep her mind clear ahead of every game.

"I tend to not focus too much until it's time to focus. You can get really mentally tired if all you are doing for the whole week is focusing on the next game," she says.

"I have my own routines leading up on match days, like I plait all of the girls' hair, then I don't have to worry about thinking too much, I am not sitting around idle. I'm the hairdresser for the day! It takes my mind off it and I would always have my own music on the bus leading up to the match."

The fact that the Irish women's rugby team are now inspiring younger generations of both girls and boys, and that women's rugby teams are now springing up all over Ireland, is something Tania is extremely proud to be a part of.

"I go into a couple of schools and a lot of girls there will say, 'Oh I want to play sport!' and even women, when I have spoken at a few lunches, and they are just so interested in how well we have done and happy that women are doing so well on the sport front," Tania says.

Tania's son Serge is a fan of his mum, but unfortunately she is not his favourite rugby player. "Serge has been immersed in rugby since he was born. I was in training camps when he was three months old and he was there with me. He was at the World Cup for the three weeks. He loves it.

"We did have a talk about whether I should retire or not and he got really upset and told me I couldn't," she says.

"He's really proud of me and his favourite rugby player is a women's rugby player so that's brilliant. It's not me, unfortunately! I wish it was me, but it's Ashleigh Baxter, the little blonde winger."

Tania Rosser is the brand ambassador for V8 Vegetable Juice. For more information see: www.v8juice.com

How Tania makes it work

...daily food plan

Breakfast: V8 Vegetable Juice, two poached eggs, Parma ham and spinach.

Snack: Yoghurt or a piece of fruit.

Lunch: Chicken and salad.

Snack: Yoghurt or a piece of fruit.

Dinner: Steak or some lean meat and lots of vegetables

. ...weekly timetables

When it’s international season we train three mornings a week with weights and have two evening cardio sessions. Then we also have two club sessions during the week as well. On the weekends we will be in training camp.

“Some mornings I start off at 6am. Between getting up, getting ready, getting to the gym and getting home in time for my son in terms of school and then a full day’s work, it can be very busy. Then I will have rugby training at half six, seven o’clock at night. It’s home then to try to get a meal and a good night’s rest.”

...top five fitness tips

1 Train first thing in the morning, this will set you up for the rest of the day and you will find that you have more energy.

2 Listen to your body. If you are tired, then having a day off won’t hurt.  Your body needs time to recover. Sleep is hugely important and I try and get at least nine hours of it each night.

3 Food is an important part of my training. Eating well and straight after a session helps me to recover.  I try and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables and a great way to get this into my diet is by drinking V8 Juices every morning.

4 Variety of training is important, firstly for the mind and secondly so that your body doesn’t get used to the same exercises.

5 Finally, if you want to be the BEST surround yourself with the best people, as they will make you better, challenge you and support you. Without a doubt I have the best physio, strength trainer and mental skills coach in the country that I lean on for support and guidance.

....advice for women interested in taking up rugby

There are plenty of opportunities for both ladies and girls to get involved in rugby. Firstly, check out local clubs; my club Blackrock College RFC has mini girls, youths, two senior teams and a 7s team. There are a couple of forms of rugby — tag rugby, touch rugby, Fifteens and Sevens. I started off with touch rugby and Sevens in New Zealand and grew from there. What I will say is give it a go; you just never know where you will end up! I never thought I would’ve played three World Cups, travelled the world playing rugby and formed the friendships that I have all over the world!”