Danny Brosnan
From two COVID riddled years of 2020 and 2021, three head coaches, a first ever tour, professional contract’s and a Celtic Challenge League.
Letters of anger from past players, fans. Old warriors leaving and new being baptized by fire. It’s been a whirlwind wind three years for the Irish women’s rugby team.
2021. The floodgates open.
The 2021 interprovincial final day. A day that has been left it’s mark on the IRFU and something they wish they could’ve wiped from existence. Two portable toilets for players, staff and supporters, which wasn’t the worst thing.
That was the changing room conditions. A tent, a van. In what can only be described as one of the most unsafe and unhygienic places surrounded by skips, piles of rubble and a good possibility of vermin.
Outrage was what the IRFU had to deal with from players and supporters and very rightfully so.
But the IRFU were optimistic. With a RWC qualifier on the doorstep and qualification looking good it was a chance to brush this under the carpet.
Yet, as fate would have it, much a kin to the Titanic an iceberg was looming and set for a collision course.
All seemed possible going into qualification. Spain, Italy and Scotland, all three teams were beatable. Yet it was a tournament where things that could’ve gone wrong did go wrong.
An 8-7 loss to Spain in the opening game set a bad tone. A 15-7 win over Italy put us back in contension for a qualification spot, either through recharge or automatic qualification. But we needed a win over Scotland, a bonus point win to be safe.
Yet the path was set, the Titanic on its way, the iceberg in its path.
Scotland won that match 20-18. It was then the realization of how much damage was done.
Two straight controversies in quick succession. Each highlighting the issues of failure by the IRFU of the women’s game. The changing room fiasco was the crash that cut the bow, the failure to qualify for the RWC was what brought let the water onboard. Mind you this was our first missed RWC since 1995. But what really made it worse was the we had hosted the previous edition. Our seventh straight appearance. Yet we’d miss this.
Changing of the guard.
Like a ball of yarn, things began to unravel. Adam Griggs announced his retirement after the November internationals with Captain Ciara Griffin following suit.
Greg McWilliams was announced as new coach and shortly after Nicola Fryday as the new captain.
But in-between the end of the Grigg era and start of the McWilliams era saw players retire or blacklisted for calling out the IRFU.
Shaky first steps.
2022, the world cup year.
Professional contracts were rumbling, a historic first ever tour, two games against Japan were announced. It finished with a series draw.
But it was the six nations where we’d two wins, including a slight bit of revenge after beating Scotland. Yet the new players and system hadn’t bedded in just right.
But with a new year celebrated in 2023, dawned new issues. An inexperienced squad still settling in against five teams that’d more time together because of the rwc showed. A whitewashed team, a wooden spoon, a team that could’ve seem to score, a new international competition on the horizon. Yet uncertainty and chaos ensued.
McWilliams stepped down in May, the IRFU said he was still on the job before both parties got there stories straight and that they’d partied ways.
Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, Nicola Fryday retired from international rugby and in essence relinquished her captaincy. Eventually Scott Bemand was announced as head coach and with just enough time to get things together before the inargural WXV tier 3 competition.
A new dawn
Bemand’s team hit the ground running beating Kazakhstan 109-0, Colombia fell next losing 64-3 before revenge against Spain beating them 15-13 and being declared champions.
Yet the 2024 six nations brought something good. Two wins, but more importantly an automatic world cup berth for 2025 as well as a WXV tier one competition. The showings were good against France and Italy but unfortunately it was too back to back losses in the opening games. A 36-5 win over Wales showed the good sides of progress. Yet a 14 try 88-10 loss to England in round 4 highlighted how much more we needed to do. Yet it was Scotland again, but we got the vital win.
Yet it was in the wee hours of a Monday morning in November that got us our biggest win. Beating New Zealand in the opening game of the tier 1 WXV tournament, yet it was the Utrecht shield match that once again showed our flaws. Yet we finished on a high against an error strewen American side.
Yet this year’s six nations showed the good and the bad of us this year again.
A French side we could’ve beat, a show of brilliance against Italy. A fantastic opening 40 against England but didn’t have the legs for the back half. Another show of brilliance against Wales. Yet Scotland getting the better of us in round five.
From there to here.
We’ve come on in ways. Pro contracts. Getting the best out of the players we have. More confident in ways. Celtic Challenge has helped with getting players at better standard.
Yet issues are still there. Handling and place kicking. The interpros, AIL and Celtic Challenge not being more streamlined.
But considering we went from not qualifying to the previous to an automatic spot so quick has helped no bounds.
Hopefully it’ll be a less rocky road in time to come.
The iceberg has done some serious damage. But necessary damage.