The final scoreline may have been a difficult one to take, but Ireland captain Nichola Fryday expressed her pride in her team-mates’ efforts against England who are gunning for a TikTok Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam.
While the hosts turned on the afterburners in the second half of the contest, Ireland had frustrated them with some excellent defensive work during the opening 40 minutes at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
Trailing by just 10 points, the Ireland Women had put it up to the reigning champions and the world’s number one-ranked team, and this is something Fryday was keen to focus on.
“I’m extremely proud of the girls, especially for that first half performance. We really brought it to England for that first 40 minutes and they showed that they’re world class then in that second half,” she admitted.
“You can’t question the girls’ fight throughout that whole match and I’m extremely proud of them for that.”
Of course, Greg McWilliams’ charges were disappointed with how the game eventually finished. England clinically capitalised on Dorothy Wall’s sin-binning and Sene Naoupu’s subsequent red card, scoring five tries while they were off.
Fryday acknowledged the qualities that ultimately led to England claiming such a convincing victory, saying: “I think it’s probably their power game, their set-piece. It’s a real weapon that they have.
“We tried different ways of diffusing it, but it was just world class and that’s what we need to strive to get better at and be able to handle that kind of pressure. They’re just clinical in everything that they do.
“They have that fitness level from training all week and they’re able to execute their system that efficiently and clinically. It’s just that they get the opportunity to rep that continuously throughout the week.
That’s the position they’re in and we’re in our position. That’s not the reasoning either. It’s just a step up that they’ve gotten and we’ll continue to strive to get there as well.
“I think the teams we’ve come up against, this year’s Six Nations has gotten tougher and tougher. England are that step above everyone else, but at the same time it’s just rugby.
“You go out and you make your tackles, you chop low and you get one high. If you implement that system or process, it makes your defence very easy and simple. I think that’s what we did do in the first half.”
Before the post-press conference got underway in Leicester, Fryday – speaking on behalf of the entire Ireland squad – offered condolences to the family of Kate Moran, the Athenry camogie player who sadly passed away earlier in the week.
“The squad’s condolences are with Kate Moran’s family this week. It was a tragedy that happened in Galway and we just want to let her family and her friends know that we’re all thinking of them at this time,” she said.
Source: Irish Rugby