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It would be fair to say that 2021 was an annus horribilis for Irish women's rugby, the nadir that September defeat by Scotland in Parma which ended their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup.
And come December there was the letter to the Government, signed by 62 current and former players, detailing why they had lost all faith in the IRFU and its handling of the women’s game.
It was somewhere in the middle of that storm that Greg McWilliams took over as head coach of the team, and if enthusiasm could heal those wounds, they'd be well and truly salved by the time Ireland kick off their 2022 Six Nations campaign against Wales at the RDS on Saturday.
His hopes for the team?
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“That they have ambition, that they play with excitement and vibrancy, and that it’s full of fun. I think about my mother, my sister, my wife, my daughter, they’re all front and centre at parties, they’ve got great banter and craic. It’s important that comes out in how we play.
“I want people to see a group of players who wear their hearts on their sleeves, showing that they’re there to represent what Ireland should be all about. It gives me goosebumps even thinking about it.”
"Well, as you can see, he's very enthusiastic," laughed Nichola Fryday, the newly appointed captain of the team who was sitting alongside McWilliams.
“It’s infectious. It’s a fresh start. Any player would be heartbroken after what happened in Parma, but we’re just looking forward now, we’re not looking back any more. We don’t want to be in a position ever again where we don’t qualify for a World Cup.”
Smooth sailing ahead? Possibly not.
The independent review of the team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup pointed to the absence of a full-time head coach, assistant, analyst, nutritionist, sports psychologist, and so on.
Has this been righted?
“Professionalism,” said McWilliams, “is a Monday morning when it’s dark and you’re getting out of bed and you can hit snooze five times, but you only hit it once. It’s making sure you’re eating the right food, you’re getting the right amount of sleep, you’re looking at your GPS stats to make sure you understand things like HML [high metabolic load] efforts . . . you understand your IDPs [individual development plan]. We learn at every single opportunity and we make sure we put faith in our process, and we have our DNA.”
That was a probably a no, then.
Former director
Had he been given any guarantees that he would have the pick of Ireland's top players for this Six Nations campaign, that there would be no more issues with contracted Sevens players being unavailable . . . even though Ireland's final two games, against England and Scotland, come in or around the Sevens' World Series tournament in Vancouver?
“Yeah, I was given those assurances,” he said, but the but he added was a sizeable one. “I think it’s important that as many as possible go to Langford [in Vancouver] and represent the women for the World Series because it’s a World Cup year for the Sevens. It’s a good chance for us to look at as many players as we can as we build our [15s] squad. The more people we can see during the Six Nations, the better.”
That was a probably a no, then.
Had Cliodhna Moloney been dropped from the squad because she was outspoken in her criticism of Anthony Eddy, the former director of women's rugby, describing his placing of the blame for the Parma debacle solely on the players' shoulders as "slurry"?
“I’m being true to myself, I’ve had the backing of the IRFU, 100 per cent. This is a rugby decision, nobody steered me any other way, I’m selecting who I believe are the right people at the moment to represent Ireland.”
The door, though, he insisted, remained open to the likes of Moloney and the other high-profile omissions from the squad, including Sene Naoupu, Anna Caplice and Leah Lyon.
“It won’t be until our third or fourth camp together that you might see some consistency in the squad. Selection is never easy, but I selected who I felt were the best players at this moment to bring Ireland forward.
“We’ll see what happens down the line. It’s not just those players, there are several others who would feel just as upset that they’re not in the squad. But yes, the door remains open.”
Women’s Six Nations Fixtures
Saturday, March 26th
Scotland v England, 12pm, DAM Health Stadium (BBC 2)
Ireland v Wales, 4.45pm, RDS (Virgin/BBC 2)
Sunday, March 27th
France v Italy, 3pm, Stade des Alpes
Saturday, April 2nd
France v Ireland, 2.15pm, Stade Ernest-Wallon (RTÉ 2/BBC 2)
Wales v Scotland, 4.45pm, Cardiff Arms Park (BBC 2)
Sunday, April 3rd
Italy v England, 3pm, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Saturday, April 9th
England v Wales, 4.45pm, Kingsholm (Virgin/BBC 2)
Sunday, April 10th
Scotland v France, 1pm, Scotstoun Stadium (RTÉ)
Ireland v Italy, 5pm, Musgrave Park (RTÉ)
Friday, April 22nd
Wales v France, 8pm, Cardiff Arms Park (Virgin)
Saturday, April 23rd
Italy v Scotland, 7.20pm, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi (RTÉ)
Sunday, April 24th
England v Ireland, 12pm, Welford Road (Virgin/BBC 2)
Saturday, April 30th
Wales v Italy, 12pm, Cardiff Arms Park (Virgin)
France v England, 2.15pm, Stade Jean Dauger (Virgin)
Ireland v Scotland, 8pm, Kingspan Stadium (RTÉ)
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