We were delighted and honoured to be invited to play at half-time during the opening match of the Irish Women's Six Nations campaign when they were taking on Scotland. As Ireland were defending Six-Nations champions this was going to be a big match for them and it was a great opportunity for us to show our gratitude and support for Fiona Coghlan (loosehead prop & Captain), Sophie Spence (lock), Nora Stapleton (out-half) and Jenny Murphy (inside-centre). These players have been great ambassadors for the game and have given up so much of their time to visit us and provide us with some great coaching. It was nice to have a chance to say thank you.
The weather really co-operated with us, and despite the cold we were lucky to have the driest weather experienced in Ireland that week! Our first job was to provide a guard of honour to the teams as they came out. We made a lot of noise, both during the guard of honour and while on the sideline. The team had a great game and we were treated to a fantastic display. Over the course of the evening we saw a strong Ireland team work hard at defence and also be ruthless in attack. We learned so much from the ladies, AND we got to stay dry.
Our own game wasn't as free-flowing. We had 18 players, and we were playing an eight-minute ten-a-side game. This meant that every two minutes or so we were changing our team to ensure everyone was getting a game. The opposition (Ballinsloe RFC) didn't have to make any changes and so they benefitted from that extra bit of stability. Still, we have to take responsibility for our own play and far too often we carried the ball into contact when we had passing options available. Maybe we got a little starstruck on the night. Ballinasloe got an extremely lucky ball which slid out of a ruck and into their hands, gifting them a very easy try. While that was the only score of the game we had a fantastic evening and we really enjoyed every minute of our own game, as well as the awesome display from the Womens team.
A big well done to Katie (captain), Lisa, Roisin, Jojo, Claire, Cliodna, Rebekah, Caoimhe, Kelly, Sorcha, Holly, Laura, Sinead, Eva, Aoife, Sarah, Jess and Abercrombie for giving up their free time on a Friday evening to represent their school and their team. A special thank you to all of the parents who were able to come along and offer support.
