AFTER ENDURING A frustrating afternoon in Twickenham when she only got three carries – a meagre tally for a player of her quality – Aoife Wafer was back to her indomitable best for Ireland today.
The explosive number eight’s evening started with a dominant tackle on Italy fullback Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi, setting the tone for a physically dominant showing.
Wafer grabbed a try from a clever Irish lineout play, while it was the Wexford woman’s offload that sent Béibhinn Parsons clear for the best Irish score in their 57-20 victory over the Italians.
Although she was withdrawn with more than 25 minutes of the game to go, Wafer was still Ireland’s top ball-carrier with 14. She beat three defenders along the way, as well as winning gainline after gainline for Ireland, allowing their backs to flourish in the first half, particularly. Parsons grabbed a hat-trick.
Simply put, when 23-year-old Wafer is at her best, she makes Ireland tick.
“I think you guys asked the question around Aoife last week and we just said look, sometimes you can have a quieter day game or more difficult game to get into,” said Ireland boss Scott Bemand in Galway.
“She made damn certain she got into the game today, carrying off the scrum, a couple of tackles. I think she had two massive tackles and a dominant carry for scrum in the first 20 minutes and suddenly she’s in the game.
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“Look, we’d have loved to have left her out there. She got a little bit of cramp. We’re up on the scoreboard, we’re going to France next week, it’s only game two in the competition. It’s important to look after your players.
“So, no doubt she’ll be disappointed to come off when she did but she’s fine. She’ll go again this week.”
Wafer with Italy's Silvia Turani. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Bemand was delighted to see his team come up with a response to last weekend’s loss away to England.
They put Italy to the sword in the first half, earning a 45-10 lead, and then saw out their win after the break.
“I think that without getting carried away on one result, you know, 45 points up at half time is a significant first half, isn’t it? And it’s a significant difference,” said Bemand.
“Those that know the Dexcom in Galway, it’s always going to be tougher into a breeze than with it, but I thought we capitalised and most importantly, kept the momentum going in the first half.
“Last week, we said we didn’t fire enough shots, we didn’t get our game going. And quite simply, that’s down to a little bit of accuracy and potentially even some physicality.
“So we went after that this week and we definitely got transfer from Wednesday’s training session into the game today.”
Having registered their first win of the Six Nations, Ireland now turn their attention towards next weekend’s visit to Clermont to take on France.
The French knocked Ireland out of last year’s World Cup in a closely fought quarter-final, a game in which the match officials failed to send French player Axelle Berthoumieu off for a bite on Wafer.
Ireland captain Erin King. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“I guess we do kind of owe them one, and I think we are raring to go against them,” said Ireland skipper Erin King.
“And today it was brilliant to get that confidence and show what the squad is capable of and just keep building on the performances that we’re putting in and then go into training again.
“You know, there’s probably a few fixes that we can take from today, a few learnings, and just keep improving at the end of the day.
“The main focus is ourselves, and if we can keep improving in our squad, we’re happy.”
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Wafer back to her best in powerful performance for Ireland
AFTER ENDURING A frustrating afternoon in Twickenham when she only got three carries – a meagre tally for a player of her quality – Aoife Wafer was back to her indomitable best for Ireland today.
The explosive number eight’s evening started with a dominant tackle on Italy fullback Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi, setting the tone for a physically dominant showing.
Wafer grabbed a try from a clever Irish lineout play, while it was the Wexford woman’s offload that sent Béibhinn Parsons clear for the best Irish score in their 57-20 victory over the Italians.
Although she was withdrawn with more than 25 minutes of the game to go, Wafer was still Ireland’s top ball-carrier with 14. She beat three defenders along the way, as well as winning gainline after gainline for Ireland, allowing their backs to flourish in the first half, particularly. Parsons grabbed a hat-trick.
Simply put, when 23-year-old Wafer is at her best, she makes Ireland tick.
“I think you guys asked the question around Aoife last week and we just said look, sometimes you can have a quieter day game or more difficult game to get into,” said Ireland boss Scott Bemand in Galway.
“She made damn certain she got into the game today, carrying off the scrum, a couple of tackles. I think she had two massive tackles and a dominant carry for scrum in the first 20 minutes and suddenly she’s in the game.
“Look, we’d have loved to have left her out there. She got a little bit of cramp. We’re up on the scoreboard, we’re going to France next week, it’s only game two in the competition. It’s important to look after your players.
“So, no doubt she’ll be disappointed to come off when she did but she’s fine. She’ll go again this week.”
Bemand was delighted to see his team come up with a response to last weekend’s loss away to England.
They put Italy to the sword in the first half, earning a 45-10 lead, and then saw out their win after the break.
“I think that without getting carried away on one result, you know, 45 points up at half time is a significant first half, isn’t it? And it’s a significant difference,” said Bemand.
“Those that know the Dexcom in Galway, it’s always going to be tougher into a breeze than with it, but I thought we capitalised and most importantly, kept the momentum going in the first half.
“Last week, we said we didn’t fire enough shots, we didn’t get our game going. And quite simply, that’s down to a little bit of accuracy and potentially even some physicality.
“So we went after that this week and we definitely got transfer from Wednesday’s training session into the game today.”
Having registered their first win of the Six Nations, Ireland now turn their attention towards next weekend’s visit to Clermont to take on France.
The French knocked Ireland out of last year’s World Cup in a closely fought quarter-final, a game in which the match officials failed to send French player Axelle Berthoumieu off for a bite on Wafer.
“I guess we do kind of owe them one, and I think we are raring to go against them,” said Ireland skipper Erin King.
“And today it was brilliant to get that confidence and show what the squad is capable of and just keep building on the performances that we’re putting in and then go into training again.
“You know, there’s probably a few fixes that we can take from today, a few learnings, and just keep improving at the end of the day.
“The main focus is ourselves, and if we can keep improving in our squad, we’re happy.”
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destructive Dexcom Stadium Erin King Galway Ireland Italy Scott Bemand