THERE WERE MORE than a few Irish players struggling to put it all into words.
31,294 people at the Aviva Stadium watched Ireland Women score eight tries past Scotland in a dominant Six Nations win.
The atmosphere was electric, particularly as Scott Bemand’s team swept the Scots aside during a thrilling first-half showing.
Ireland fed off their fervent crowd, and the crowd responded to Ireland’s powerful performance.
“It’s kind of hard to put into words the feeling of walking out and leading the girls out,” said Ireland captain Erin King after her side’s 54-5 win.
“I feel really privileged and really lucky to have this opportunity and be part of the 23 that get to make history today.
“But there’s a lot of girls and a lot of people that have been part of this journey. And the founding team from 1993, we have them to thank really. They’re the reason that we’re here.
“They began all of this for us and everyone in our green wave, everyone who’s ever worn the green jersey. And anyone to wear the green jersey, all the little girls and boys and anyone that was here today, everyone’s part of that.
“I just feel it’s beyond my wildest dreams, hard to put into words the feeling. And I just feel really lucky. I’m really, really proud of the girls.”
20-year-old wing Robyn O’Connor, who was among the Irish try scorers in the win over Scotland, said the day was a “surreal experience.”
Around 200 people from her home club, Wexford Wanderers, came to Dublin by bus, while her family and friends were part of the huge Irish crowd too. Every one of the Ireland players had similar stories of the swell of support for them.
“I don’t think I can put it into words, like, looking around, seeing the size of the crowd, having such a good home win with the girls, three from three home wins now,” said O’Connor.
“It’s just… I don’t think you could ask for anything better.”
There were lots of emotions today in Dublin, but also last night at Ireland’s team hotel.
They welcomed members of the 1993 Ireland team into camp for the jersey presentation.
1993 was the year Ireland Women played their first international game. It was against Scotland in Edinburgh. That was a very different time, with the Ireland squad meeting the day before the game. So connecting with that group made this week even better.
“They said to us that they felt like they were in awe, and they were honoured to be in front of us. We straight away said that it was an honour to have them there, that we’re in awe of them, and all the hard work that they had to do.
“They didn’t have any support. They just played rugby because they loved it, and I guess at the end of the day, that’s why we do it. And we never lose sight of that.
“That’s a big pillar of mine, personally, and something that I love to bring into the team, to enjoy it and play with smiles on faces, and that’s why you start playing rugby – because you love the sport.
“We really had that in common, which is really nice. And they were chatting about loads of stories, and we were telling them stories. It was really funny when the girls presented the jerseys; it was like mini-mes and things like that.
“The second rows were all really tall, and the scrum-halves were all really short and stuff like that, so that was really funny.
“It was really, really special. And they have this big sense of pride watching us play, which is really nice.
“It was a really special day that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.”
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'It was a really special day that I don’t think I’ll ever forget'
THERE WERE MORE than a few Irish players struggling to put it all into words.
31,294 people at the Aviva Stadium watched Ireland Women score eight tries past Scotland in a dominant Six Nations win.
The atmosphere was electric, particularly as Scott Bemand’s team swept the Scots aside during a thrilling first-half showing.
Ireland fed off their fervent crowd, and the crowd responded to Ireland’s powerful performance.
“It’s kind of hard to put into words the feeling of walking out and leading the girls out,” said Ireland captain Erin King after her side’s 54-5 win.
“I feel really privileged and really lucky to have this opportunity and be part of the 23 that get to make history today.
“But there’s a lot of girls and a lot of people that have been part of this journey. And the founding team from 1993, we have them to thank really. They’re the reason that we’re here.
“They began all of this for us and everyone in our green wave, everyone who’s ever worn the green jersey. And anyone to wear the green jersey, all the little girls and boys and anyone that was here today, everyone’s part of that.
“I just feel it’s beyond my wildest dreams, hard to put into words the feeling. And I just feel really lucky. I’m really, really proud of the girls.”
20-year-old wing Robyn O’Connor, who was among the Irish try scorers in the win over Scotland, said the day was a “surreal experience.”
Around 200 people from her home club, Wexford Wanderers, came to Dublin by bus, while her family and friends were part of the huge Irish crowd too. Every one of the Ireland players had similar stories of the swell of support for them.
“I don’t think I can put it into words, like, looking around, seeing the size of the crowd, having such a good home win with the girls, three from three home wins now,” said O’Connor.
“It’s just… I don’t think you could ask for anything better.”
There were lots of emotions today in Dublin, but also last night at Ireland’s team hotel.
They welcomed members of the 1993 Ireland team into camp for the jersey presentation.
1993 was the year Ireland Women played their first international game. It was against Scotland in Edinburgh. That was a very different time, with the Ireland squad meeting the day before the game. So connecting with that group made this week even better.
“It was really special,” said King.
“They said to us that they felt like they were in awe, and they were honoured to be in front of us. We straight away said that it was an honour to have them there, that we’re in awe of them, and all the hard work that they had to do.
“They didn’t have any support. They just played rugby because they loved it, and I guess at the end of the day, that’s why we do it. And we never lose sight of that.
“That’s a big pillar of mine, personally, and something that I love to bring into the team, to enjoy it and play with smiles on faces, and that’s why you start playing rugby – because you love the sport.
“We really had that in common, which is really nice. And they were chatting about loads of stories, and we were telling them stories. It was really funny when the girls presented the jerseys; it was like mini-mes and things like that.
“The second rows were all really tall, and the scrum-halves were all really short and stuff like that, so that was really funny.
“It was really, really special. And they have this big sense of pride watching us play, which is really nice.
“It was a really special day that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.”
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Six Nations Ireland Landmark Memories Scotland Women's Six Nations