After what was an all-around positive display against the French in Le Mans last weekend, all eyes now turn to Dublin’s fair city as Ireland prepare to take on Italy in their 2nd round of the 2024 Guinness Women’s Six Nations in the RDS this weekend.
The squad were given another boost going into this week as skipper Sam Monaghan was made available after finishing up her Return To Play protocols. Speaking to the media this afternoon, defence coach Declan Danaher confirmed the second-rows availability for the weekend ahead.
“Sam’s good to go. So she’s passed all her relevant protocols she’s needed to do. She’s training and it’s good to be working with her. She’s an important part of our team.”
Danaher also noted that there was no fresh injury concerns arising from the French game itself.
“Off the back of the weekend, a pretty physical encounter that the girls were all battered and bruised, but they're all good to go.”
Neve Jones - 'so many positives to take'
Though the score line may have said otherwise, hooker Neve Jones says most of the squad were pleased with the display against Les Bleus.
“Even though last week's game was a loss there is still so many positives to take into this weekend.”
Jones, who clocked up 23 tackles in 80 minutes last weekend, is looking forward to what she thinks will be an exciting match up against the Azzurri but was quick to note to not write them off just yet.
“Italy are a really exciting side and like to keep the ball alive but for us it is a really great opportunity to test out defence. We’ll definitely bring what we did against France, albeit with a couple of tweaks, but overall I think it will be a really exciting game.”
This weekend's game is setting up to being a cracker so get your tickets here for the RDS this Sunday.
