Fitzpatrick warns of potential ‘hostile environment’
By Stephen Leonard
PAULA Fitzpatrick has warned her Ireland team mates that they will get nothing easy in their Women’s Six Nations opener against France in Toulouse this Saturday night.
The St Mary’s College and Leinster flanker is returning from injury and has been named on the bench for this much-anticipated curtain raiser.
Yet she brings valuable insight into the team’s preparations for this particular tie having played Women’s Top 8 Rugby with Toulouse and experienced the cauldron that can be Stade Ernest Wallon where Ireland take on Les Bleus this weekend.
Fitzpatrick captained Ireland in last year’s Six Nations when they finished second to England and beat France by three points in Donnybrook.
The French exacted revenge for that loss later on in the summer when they beat Ireland 21-5 in UCD on their way to a third place finish in the 2017 World Cup.
And Fitzpatrick appreciates the depth of the challenge Ireland face in making their start to the 2018 Six Nations a winning one saying “Going to France is a big test. You’re playing in a hostile environment where they love their rugby.
“I’ve played there before and you can see every man, woman and child comes out, so they get very strong support.
“The [Toulouse] men’s team play there and the crowd is right up near the pitch which can make for a quite intimidating atmosphere.
“Some of our players have not experienced that. They might have played France at home either in the World Cup last year or when we beat them in the Six Nations, but going there is very tough” she stressed.
While acknowledging just how difficult a task Ireland face, the Tallaght woman likewise appreciates what a win would mean and believes the team possess the necessary armoury to achieve just that.
“The Six Nations campaign is all about momentum and it would be huge to get off to a good start with a win against France” she continued.
“But you have to be realistic. We’re playing a French team away who had a really good World Cup.
“I think the big threat that we pose to them is our set-piece- our line-out and our scrum.
“We showed that when he played them in Donnybrook in the Six Nations. Now they did change tact in the World Cup and I suppose that is a mark of respect in that they felt they had to do that” she added.
Looking back on what was a disappointing World Cup campaign on home soil, Fitzpatrick remained positive saying “As a team, we have put that behind us, yet individually, I suppose, we’re still hurting.
“But we’ve got a new coaching set-up in there now so it feels like it’s a new beginning.
“Adam [Griggs] coached us at Leinster. He has a nice calm presence and his type of training is very game-based. We do a lot of work with the ball so, there’s not that load of conditioning without ball skills.
“Ciara Griffin is the new captain and is not overly experienced. She’s still only 24, so she’s young and has the potential to become a great future leader.
“This season will be a great learning curve for her and the team.
“With some players dropping out with every new cycle, its’ up to the next generation to take it on and it will be interesting to see who steps up” she said.
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