IRELAND’S RESULT LAST night in Cardiff was a far cry from what was expected.
Rugby fans across Ireland hoped that the men would lead the way, and get the ball rolling for what was shaping up to be a memorable weekend in Wales.
Of course, it still can be a memorable weekend for the women and U20’s, but it’s one the men will rather forget.
Time is limited to lick the wounds though, as attention now turns to Cardiff Arms Park and Tom Tierney’s charges take centre-stage [KO 11.30am, live on RTÉ].
With three wins from three under their belt and the Grand Slam dream well and truly alive, tomorrow is ultimately do-or-die.
But of course, it’s no easy task.
“They’re going to be a massively huge opposition,” Marie Louise Reilly warned ahead of the all-important fixture.
“Wales at home are always very difficult. We’ve struggled there in the past to get a win against them. We’ve done well in the last little while, but no doubt there’s a huge challenge ahead of us.
“They’re always a very difficult team to play against. They’re very physical and they’re cute up front. They have some clever forwards who, to a great effect, used the ball very well against us in the warm-up match previous to the Six Nations, so that will be something we’ll obviously be looking to counteract.”
Ireland haven’t lost to Wales in a competitive match since 2011, but were beaten in that warm-up match in January, before Ireland went on to overcome Scotland, Italy and France in Six Nations action.
The opposition also looked strong during their Autumn international matches as they dismantled Scotland 15-0, whom Ireland just edged past in the last minute of their opening round tie last month.
Since then though, things haven’t gone so much to plan for Rowland Phillips’ side.
They’ve suffered back-to-back Six Nations defeats — a 63-0 hammering to England and a one point loss to Scotland last time out — but beat Italy in their first fixture.
“For people looking on, they’ll be saying we’ve won there previously and Wales have had a bit of a bad run at the moment.
But as a player, I think you see that as a potential banana skin then as well. Wales are going to be hurting, and obviously with the tragedy that they had within the squad, they’re going to be looking to put in a massive performance, and just really come together as a squad and do that person proud.”
When asked what she thinks has changed since Autumn, the Old Belvedere club player admitted she wasn’t too sure:
“They were looking very strong prior to that [consecutive losses] and they had a real team spirit about them, which was good to see.
“As a player, it made you that bit nervous because when a team look that cohesive together, you know they’re always going to give that extra 10% per player, overall their game will rise.
“I think that’s just the way the Six Nations go. Scotland have come into it and given everyone a surprise, including ourselves. They’ve upped their game, and England obviously are always a formidable outfit. I think just on the day, the Welsh captain had gone off and England exploited them out wide.”
Not only are Wales hurt from recent results and form, there’s much more spurring them on today. They have their own personal mission entering the clash.
The Welsh outfit have been left heartbroken, as they mourn the tragic death of 20-year-old Elli Norkett.
They have vowed to honour her memory accordingly, ensuring for emotional scenes in the Welsh capital.
Welsh Rugby Union 🏉 / Twitter
Welsh Rugby Union 🏉 / Twitter / Twitter
“It’s going to be difficult. We sent a message of support over to the Wales Rugby Union, because obviously rugby is a bit of a family at the end of the day.
I think it’s something that as players we need to acknowledge, but we also need to use it as an opportunity to be part of what can be a great match and a great atmosphere and something that will hopefully do her proud.”
The home side line out with seven changes, while Ireland are close to full strength as the ‘Vegas Three’ – Alison Miller, Sene Naoupu, and Hannah Tyrrell – return and start, while the pack has a more set look again.
Sophie Spence has made a full return from injury and has been impressing of late, and lines out alongside Reilly later.
“Having a settled front row and the pack, we’re working well together now and I suppose, from a lineout point of view, we’ve done well the last little while so we’ll be looking to continue at that.
“We have good players on the bench then as well. It’s a strong squad, we’re always pushing each other in training and I think that ‘s only going to help the girls that are on the pitch to try and perform.”
For the 36-year-old, simplicity has been key to their impressive Six Nations start:
“I think we’re just trying to concentrate on getting the basics right. In the November series and the warmup match against Wales, they were the things that let us down a small bit.
We’re just getting back to concentrating on our skill base, working hard at that, and obviously with that, confidence is growing.”
And of course, the prospect of a Grand Slam can’t be ignored, but its a thought Reilly and her side are keeping firmly to the back of their minds.
A win today sets up a St Patrick’s Day showdown with England.
Having been part of the last Grand Slam-winning team, she’s focusing firmly on the task at hand first though.
“At present, we haven’t even spoken about it. I think the matches are coming so thick and fast, between playing the matches and preparing training-wise during the week. And then also with work and things like that, you’re fairly hectic.
At the moment all we can do is think of Wales, and whatever happens after that will happen.”
Ireland Women
15. Kim Flood
14. Hannah Tyrrell
13. Jenny Murphy
12. Sene Naoupu
11. Alison Miller
10. Nora Stapleton
9. Mary Healy
1. Lindsay Peat
2. Leah Lyons
3. Ailis Egan
4. Sophie Spence
5. Marie Louise Reilly
6. Ciara Griffin
7. Claire Molloy
8. Paula Fitzpatrick (captain)
Replacements:
16. Ciara O Connor
17. Ilse Van Staden
18. Ruth O’Reilly
19. Ciara Cooney
20. Nichola Fryday
21. Larissa Muldoon
22. Nikki Caughey
23. Mairead Coyne
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