Fitzpatrick wary of Welsh ahead of Women’s Six Nations opener
By Stephen Leonard
FORMER St Mary’s College player Paula Fitzpatrick is certainly not taking lightly the threat that Wales pose to Ireland in the start of their Women’s Six Nations Championship title defence.
The reigning champions play host to the Welsh in their new home of Donnybrook this coming Saturday hoping to repeat if not better their performance against them last season when they won 20-0 away.
Yet Ireland second rower Fitzpatrick, now playing with French Top 8 outfit Toulouse, will be urging her compatriots to remain focused ahead of this potentially tricky curtain raiser to their 2016 campaign.
“I think the 20-0 scoreline definitely flattered us against Wales last year” she told The Echo.
“It was a very tough and physical game and it took us 60 minutes to break them down.
“Wales are always a big threat particularly at the start of the tournament.
“They have some quality players in their squad led by their talismanic captain Rachel Taylor in the back row.
“Wales always play with huge tenacity at the breakdown and their defensive line speed can really put teams under pressure.
“They had a great win against England in their first game of last year’s tournament and will be looking to perform consistently throughout the tournament this year.
“Obviously there will be self-imposed pressure to perform there, but that’s always the case when you have the opportunity to play for your country so it’s no more than usual.
“A positive start would give us some great momentum going into the tournament, but we are very much focused on taking one game at a time” said the Tallaght woman.
Head Coach Tom Tierney has introduced some new faces into the Ireland squad ahead of this campaign including St Mary’s skipper Grainne Egan.
Her clubmate Orla Fitzsimons will also be hoping to play a part in her nation’s title quest despite only returning from injury.
“There are lots of new faces within the 30-player squad including St Mary’s captain Grainne Egan so the atmosphere is fantastic with everyone pushing for a spot in the match day squad” said Fitzpatrick.
“Everybody is pushing for a spot in the match day squad so it’s very competitive.
“Orla [Fitzsimons] is just returning from an elbow dislocation before Christmas and will be looking to put pressure on the other second rows.
“And Grainne has been performing very well in the back row with St Mary’s and Connacht in the last couple of seasons and has been rewarded with a national squad call up. She’ll be looking to secure her first cap in this campaign” she added.
Fitzpatrick is also hopeful that the relocation of Ireland’s home base to Donnybrook will benefit the team.
“It’s sad to leave Ashbourne because the people there have been fantastic to us, but it will be great to have a great stadium like Donnybrook as our new home.
“The fact that it’s closer to the city will hopefully make it more accessible to supporters and we’re hoping there’ll be a great buzz around the games” she said.
