THE PROSPECT OF resuming the Six Nations next weekend signals the opening of a crucial window for Ireland women.
Not only is it an invaluable opportunity to play some competitive Test rugby (a rare enough thing even before the pandemic), complete a Championship schedule and benchmark against teams that defeated Adam Griggs’ side last year.
In December, they will play for their 2021 calendar as they go up against Italy again, Wales and Scotland (now without coach Philip ‘Goose’ Doyle) in a Women’s Rugby World Cup qualifier tournament.
The winner takes it all, a trip to New Zealand next July. Even now, the land of the long white cloud is one of the few places where it’s safe to gather large crowds together for the love of sport.
The sight of it alone is good for the soul. The chance to work your way there is utterly tantalising.
“I suppose we can’t focus on December until we get through these two matches and everyone gets through well,” says Ireland captain Ciara Griffin, doing virtual media duties after the last of the squad’s two-day camps in preparation for the rescheduled matches against Italy and France.
“These Six Nations matches are a great opportunity for us to build up for that December. To up our intensity and get our performances in, that execution that we want.”
While clashes with the timing of camps and club matches have meant that many Irish players have not yet played a competitive match since sport’s spring shutdown, Griffin has been satisfied by the standards hit in training.
“We had that gap, but we hit the ground running the minute we came in here. What struck me was the competitiveness and the bite everyone had.
“There was high quality execution and that’s what we want. We need that execution at high tempo.”
Where they stand will become clearer ahead of their November training window, after a tough test away to France and this coming weekend’s chance to lay a marker down against Italy – and also avenge defeat to the Azzurri last year.
From the start of the year, Griggs has made three home wins the target from this Championship and his side are 80 minutes away from achieving that.
If all interested parties manage to steer the fixture around any looming restrictions (with cases and preventative measures on the rise in both countries), then the prospect of beating Italy would serve as a sweet celebration in itself.
It’s been a long year. Everyone has made sacrifices in the attempt to keep themselves and loved ones safe. Griffin is a primary school teacher and an athlete. She has postponed her wedding – another important date now set for December – so she doesn’t need reminding of the importance of stopping the spread. Everyday measures to be followed whether in camp, at home or on the way between the two.
“We have some travel pods. Some groups will travel together and that’s your travel pod in terms of safety. Face masks, windows down. We have those procedures in place for when we get to camp.
“We do a Covid assessment every morning. If we have any symptoms, we write down everything. That’s done every morning regardless. Then we have temperature checks coming into camp and after training as well. Sign in, sign out. Everything has changed. Our own bottles, things like that. All the procedures are in place to keep us safe, which is the main thing.”
And yet, the skipper is quick to shrug off the word ‘sacrifice’ when it’s suggested to her.
“To be honest, they’re not really sacrifices because you make that decision, you decide to put in that time to have a chance at the green jersey so you decide to do those sessions.
“I think a big thing is that we’re taking that extra responsibility in terms of just outside of camp. You’d to be so cautious and so careful in terms of your own bubbles. Your work bubbles and you’ve to nearly limit your social bubbles as well. That’s us taking a lot of ownership outside of camp so that we can come in, that we’re training and there’s no external distractions or anything that could put us at risk or put our performance at risk.”
“We want to win next week. That’s the bottom line really.
“These are two really important matches leading up to December for us as well. We have to take every opportunity we can to keep those performances up. Keep working on what we’ve been working on in camp and putting in the performances.“
Canterbury, the official kit partner to Irish Rugby, has officially launched the new Ireland Women’s Rugby Home jersey that will be worn throughout the 2020/21 season. It is a new era for Irish Rugby, and the latest technology is at the heart of the new Ireland Women’s Rugby Home jersey which can be purchased from Monday 19th October in selected Intersport Elvery’s stores nationwide, at IrishRugby.ie and at Canterbury.com.
