After a month of not playing any matches, I couldn’t wait to get back on the pitch last weekend for the All Ireland League semi-final.
To be honest, a few of us were not sure if we were going to get our place on the team back because the girls have been doing so well, featuring in two finals and winning two trophies. But thankfully the coach wanted to see us in action, and put his faith in us.
We played Cooke, a team that we’ve faced and beaten twice this season, but the previous games have been very close. We started very well and were rewarded with an early try. After that, Cooke started putting the pressure on and we didn’t have things our own way. We were made to work hard for our tries, but we did score a few more to finish the game strongly.
Next week we face Blackrock RFC once more in the final, which we know will be a completely different task as they too have their internationals back, along with inspirational captain Tania Rosser. So next Saturday in Athlone, the two strongest teams in Irish women’s rugby will face each other in what promises to be a great game.
Elsewhere, on Saturday I was asked to attend a girls’ youth blitz at Clane RFC. I was delighted to be asked as I got a chance to see the underage talent that is coming through. These girls have such a great opportunity to develop fundamental skills of the game about five or six years earlier than myself and many of my team-mates.
I was impressed with a number of the girls, and I saw some that have the raw potential to go much further in the game. I just hope now that these girls receive the appropriate coaching to achieve their full potential.
I did a Q&A session with some of the teams, and it’s clear that some really have a desire to go on and play at a higher level. We spoke about the opportunity to become an Olympian, with sevens rugby due to appear at the 2016 Rio Olympics. It was a great day and I really hope to see some of these girls in action over the years.
But back to competition – and the All Ireland Cup final at the weekend, pitting our club against Blackrock. It was very annoying for me to be stuck on the sideline watching, as us league players are not allowed play in the cup. But our girls were absolutely superb. They were clinical from start to finish, and some of the rugby played was sublime.
Let’s hope we can play like that again on Saturday.
Fiona Coghlan is an Irish International rugby player. Her column appears every fortnight in Metro Éireann
