A new era of women’s rugby is starting to brew. England sit comfortably at the helm with sights set on winning a fifth consecutive grand slam title. France sit on their coattails just waiting to pounce. Wales and Scotland have been quietly working and will scrap for the best of the rest placing and finally Italy and Ireland are looking to improve on years gone by. But this years competition is different. Not only are there three coveted 2025 World Cup spots up for grabs for the top three placed but the competition itself has a brand new title sponsor in Guinness. Finally bringing them into alignment with their male counterparts.
With the Guinness Women’s Six Nations kicking off this weekend we had the opportunity to speak to Guinness ambassador, former Irish international and all round rugby legend, Brian O’Driscoll on the upcoming competition.
Speaking about the importance of Guinness coming on board as title partner for the competition ahead O'Driscoll noted how fantastic an opportunity it is to align with the men’s competition.
“It is a really great opportunity not only for Guinness but for the competition and the game itself. We have had such excitement and great attendances at our 20s and men’s games so to have the sponsorship carry over is really great for the overall growth of the game.”
'Plenty of green shoots'
After a tough campaign last season and a now much changed squad and background staff, the feel within camp and amongst supporters is that the tide is turning for the Irish team and O’ Driscoll could not agree more. Having been in many a dressing room during tough competition periods he points out the overall importance of having the support from fans even when scores may not be going their way.
I have been on teams where like that we have been going through a rough patch but it has always been the crowd that carries you through.
Take last years game against England in Cork. I was lucky enough to be at it and even though the score line was not in our favour, the crowd still stayed on and cheered and overall just brought a really great atmosphere and rallied behind the girls every step of the way”
With the games falling the week after a riproaring end to an exciting men’s and U20s Six Nations, O’ Driscoll hopes that the support will now carry over into the women’s competition for the next six weeks.
I think there is an air of excitement around this team. Scott Bemand and Declan Danaher have come and really created a positive environment around the squad. There are definitely a number of green shoots coming through this year, some that many have not had a chance to see preform on a platform like the Six Nations, so this is the perfect opportunity for them. Also this is a massive chance for any fans to witness some of our superstar 7s players before they jet off to Paris in July.
With the matches taking place in Dublin, Cork and Belfast it is also a really fantastic opportunity for young girls and boys to come out and see these female rugby stars perform in their localities.”
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Guinness Rugby Announcement 12/12/2023
Six Nations Rugby and Guinness agree a groundbreaking partnership spanning the Women’s and Men’s Championships. The new long-term partnership will see the Women’s Championship renamed the Guinness Women’s Six Nations in 2024, alongside the extension of the Title Partnership of the Men’s Championship, the Guinness Men’s Six Nations. Guinness’s new Title Partnership with the Women’s Six Nations confirms the brand as one of the world’s biggest supporters of women's rugby.
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With three World Cup qualification spots available to the top three finishers in this years championship, O’ Driscoll was keen to note what he hopes for the squad in the coming weeks. Though a spot on the plane to England next year would be a massive achievement, he feels the team as a whole should focus on the little things first before making the jump to possible qualification.
“My main hope for this team this year is improvement. Like many teams in the past they are coming out of a dark period but they now have a coaching ticket with a wealth of experience and who have brough that positive environment with them into camp.
Right now it is about taking that next step. This weekends game against France was always going to be a tough opener but right now it is about focusing on putting in a performance that they are proud. In terms of the rest of the tournament then I think we could put it up to Italy but as I said my main hope is improvement. Improvement in our performance. Improvement in our skill set and then eventually improvement in the odd result here and there.”
An exciting Guinness Women’s Six Nations championship definitely awaits.
Tickets are still available for all Irish home games. Visit the IRFU website to purchase your tickets today.
