A MOMENTOUS 15 months or so lies ahead for Irish women’s rugby.
The sevens squad have an opportunity to qualify for this summer’s Rio Olympics by winning June’s Dublin-hosted repechage tournament, while the prospect of the 2017 World Cup on Irish soil looms large in the 15s game.
With depth remaining an issue in the sport, one that is slowly being resolved, there has been a crossover of resources from 15s into the sevens games, and vice versa, over the course of this season.
However, preparations for the 2017 World Cup have already started for many players, with Ireland Women beginning their pre-season this week as they look towards a schedule they hope will end with glory in Belfast next year.
The 2017 World Cup pool stages will take place in UCD next year, before the play-off games see the tournament shift to Belfast. Ireland captain and fullback Niamh Briggs hopes to claim glory at Kingspan Stadium on 26 August.
We’re all athletes, and we all want to win every game we play,” said Briggs, who was part of the Ireland team that finished fourth at the 2014 World Cup in France.
“I’m not going to turn around and tell you that I’d be happy to get to a semi-final again. We want to go and win every game, be it every autumn international, every Six Nations, every World Cup. We’re driven, and that doesn’t change. Come back to me at the end of August, and I’ll tell you whether it’s been a success or not.”
Crucial to Ireland’s preparation for the World Cup will be their November internationals series, when they face New Zealand, England and Canada – ranked first, second and fifth respectively in the world at present.
Crucially, fourth-ranked Ireland will play those three games in the same format as at the World Cup.
“It’s going to be huge for us,” said Briggs at yesterday’s launch of the official logo for Ireland 2017. “The quality of the opposition is massive. England and New Zealand have lifted the World Cup and Canada got to the final last time, so that’s going to be huge.
“Also, it allows us to almost play a mini-World Cup, because the games are every four days [as at the actual World Cup].
“For the girls who have never been to a World Cup before, it will allow them to understand the intensity and the environment that they’re going to be in for a couple of weeks in August.”
Briggs hopes her teammates can “embrace” the pressure of being the host nation for next years’ tournament and agrees that they will not go into the competition as underdogs, rather as “good rugby players.”
Certainly Ireland have their greatest opportunity to win a World Cup next year, and Briggs believes the home support will reflect that.
“People have been very positive towards us,” said Briggs. “I think there’s been a huge shift in women’s sport and how it’s been viewed in Ireland.
“We’re definitely a nation of great bandwagoners and when a team is doing well, we like to get behind them. Hopefully, the lads’ soccer will do it in June and we’ll all jump behind that.
“People will jump behind our repechage then for the sevens. We’ve had huge support, it’s been unbelievable and it’s so important for us.”
While Ireland will be able to count on genuine and honest support at the World Cup, Briggs does feel that the media have some work to do in their approach to covering women’s rugby.
She feels that the reaction to 2014′s World Cup semi-final hammering at the hands of England on a 40-7 scoreline should have been far more critical.
“Our supporters have never been patronising,” says Briggs. “No offence, but it’s probably come from the media in the sense that ‘ye’ve done great to get to a semi-final.’ We played really poorly and got absolutely annihilated and nobody spoke about the rugby.
“I think that was a big focus for us. We are rugby players and athletes, and we want to be viewed as that. That’s the credibility issue and it’s coming. From our support, they’ve always been really credible, but it’s just from others it hasn’t.”
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