ANDREW PORTER, THE Ireland prop, has lent his support to the Ireland women’s team after IRFU director of women’s rugby, Anthony Eddy, apologised to the team for comments he made earlier this week.
Eddy spoke to the Press on Monday, issuing comments which some players within the squad have interpreted as being critical of their failure to qualify for next year’s World Cup. Eddy has since apologised to the team.
Shortly after Eddy’s press conference, Cliodhna Moloney, the team’s hooker, issued a tweet, saying: “I could have sworn slurry spreading season was spring… I stand corrected.”
Since then, a report by ScrumQueens, the respected website that covers women’s rugby extensively, said that David Nucifora, the IRFU’s performance director, contacted Moloney about her tweet.
Moloney’s team mates have shown solidarity with her.
Yesterday Porter was asked if he empathised with the women’s team and their current frustrations.
“Yeah, 100 per cent,” he replied. “Across the board, for an Irish team you always want your country to be doing well. You always want the players to be happy.
“You could imagine, if you were in their shoes, how disappointed and hard done by they must be at the time.
“Everyone’s behind them in terms of the organisation and all the players are behind them as a whole, really, they’ve a huge game coming up this weekend and we wish we could have gone to it but we can’t because of the bubble.
“But, yeah, obviously there are frustrations there but the amount of support they have behind them is huge.
“I think it’s (important for them to) just know they’re supported and there’s a lot of people behind them.”
Ireland men’s head coach, Andy Farrell, was also asked yesterday if he had confidence that the women’s team would get the same supports that his side receive.
He replied: “Well look, I suppose I don’t need to comment too much because I’m not too privy to what’s going on. All I do know is that I have confidence. I know that there’s a review that’s going on that will sort the issues out.
“I know that everyone at the IRFU is going in the same direction to try and put our best foot forward for every aspect of Irish rugby.”
