IT’S BEEN QUITE the year for Neve Jones. The hooker only made her first start for Ireland in November 2021, but less than 12 months later, her impact has been so notable that she’s now seen as one of the most important members of Greg McWilliams’ squad.
Jones started all five games in the 2022 Women’s Six Nations, her performances earning her a place on the team of the tournament. The 23-year-old brings huge energy on the pitch and clearly enjoys the physical side of the game, coming in third on the end-of-tournament stats for most tackles made (79), second for turnovers won (6) and topping the charts for dominant tackles (8).
The Gloucester-Hartpury player then carried that strong form into the historic summer tour to Japan, where in the opening Test win, the hooker became only the fourth Irish woman to score a hat-trick of tries at Test level, following in the footsteps of Lynne Cantwell, Alison Miller and Sophie Spence.
It’s an impressive body of work that saw Jones voted Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland women’s player of the year at last night’s awards ceremony in Dublin.
“It’s honestly a real honour, one of the ones you work towards,” Jones says.
“You don’t really think about these things until they come about and then you’re like, ‘Oh, maybe I did do quite a good job!
“Credit to the girls I was on the pitch with, I wouldn’t be in the position I am today without them and the same for the coaches and management for the last few years and where they’ve got me as a player.
“I’ve real fond memories across the Six Nations and the tour to Japan; getting to play is the top one, but getting to know the girls on and off the field will been a strong memory for me forever.
Coming off the back of the Six Nations that was a successful one for such a young team, then to go on that tour together and really cement in what we have – I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next and taking to the field with the girls again.”
The women’s game in Ireland is currently at a crucial juncture. Over the summer the IRFU announced that for the first time, the Union would be offering professional contracts to womens 15 players.
The IRFU stated those contracts would range up to €30,000 plus match fees and bonuses.
However, The Irish Independent has since reported that a number of senior players have turned down initial offers from the IRFU due to a number of concerns, including the wages on offer – chiefly those under the €30,000 mark – the current cost of living crisis and a lack of clarity around competition structures in the years ahead.
“They’ve given out a few (contracts),” Jones explains,
“We’ve had conversations between myself and Gillian [McDarby, IRFU head of women’s performance and pathways]; it’s on an individual basis and what works for us as players.
It’s one of those things, it’s not as easy as a yes/no. There’s a lot of life involved, my life is rugby and I revolve everything around it, but I need to take the emotional side away from it and think what’s best for me; not only as a player, but as a person as well.
“Tough decisions were made, I think the decision I made is the right one for me at this time and hopefully down the line things will change.”
The Antrim native was reluctant to confirm whether she had signed or not.
“I’m not sure I fully want to disclose my full answer, it was a really difficult decision I had to make and it wasn’t something that was easy to decide and it took me a few days to decide.
“I’ll leave it there and not say whether I have or haven’t, just that it’s a very difficult decision and one that a number of players who are in the same boat as me have pondered over for a while.”
It would be a bad look for the IRFU if a sizeable contingent of the 15s squad were to reject contracts, but Jones is adamant the future looks bright for the women’s game in Ireland.
“I think we’re definitely making progressions in the right direction.
“We’re definitely making progress, it’s definitely going to be a fantastic thing for the women’s game in Ireland and it’s what needs to happen for the next building blocks for our game. There’s so many positives to take out of it, I can’t wait to see where it takes us.”
On the pitch, it’s been an encouraging year for Greg McWilliams’ squad. Following the heartbreak of missing out on qualification for the World Cup last year, and the subsequent ugly fallout, things have somewhat settled for the group.
Ireland finished fourth in the Six Nations but between that and the tour to Japan, there were signs their game is evolving under McWilliams.
“For me, and a lot of the girls, we want to conquer the world,” Jones adds.
“I don’t know if that sounds dramatic, but we want to become a world class team; a team that everyone fears playing and that sort of thing.
“Having come off the back of a really successful year for us, we’re looking to build on that, keep going and progress.
“I wouldn’t say we were unfortunate to lose against Wales in the Six Nations, at the end of the day we slipped up a couple of times and they benefited from our mistakes. We don’t want to lose games in the last minute, we want to put up a good fight.
“When we played England, it was 10-0 at half-time and we want to keep building on that sort of thing. Have that sort of determination and passion, keep building on that.
“We have the natural passion and drive, we want to make sure we’re fitter, stronger, faster as the year goes on.
“It’s easy to work on the things you’re good at but (for me) it’s about working on the things you’re not so good at, that’s my focus for next year – to build myself into the best all-round player I can be and hopefully that benefits the team.”
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