Higgins hopeful Ireland women can keep building

LUCAN native, Eve Higgins has said that the Ireland women’s rugby team are at a developmental stage as they look to earn their first win of the 2022 Six Nations Championship against Italy this Sunday (kick-off 5pm).

Following an opening round defeat to Wales under new head coach, Greg McWilliams, Ireland suffered a 40-5 reversal at the hands of France in Toulouse last weekend.

A Higgins try in the second period was the visitors’ only score in the latter game and the Railway Union centre believes it will take time for them to hit the optimum level of performance.

“Of all the teams in the Six Nations, we are the only ones who haven’t qualified for a World Cup and we are in this building phase” explained Higgins.

“We are at a different stage as everyone else and we’re trying to, as a new group of players and a new group of management, build on our performances and look at the next few months and years rather than right now necessarily” she said.

Whereas Ireland played their home Six Nations games exclusively at Dublin’s Energia Park from 2016 to 2021, this year sees them travelling around the country.

Having faced the Welsh at the RDS, they will play the Italians at Musgrave Park in Cork this weekend before taking on Scotland at Belfast’s Kingspan Stadium on April 30.

“I think it’s great to expand the women’s game in the country. Playing in the RDS, I grew up going to Leinster games with my Dad and my family. It was such an honour to be playing in the RDS as a Leinster fan,” Higgins smiled.

“The likes of it moving to Cork and obviously up in Belfast at the end of the Six Nations, it is great because it’s getting more eyes onto the game and people that necessarily can’t come up to Dublin and watch us live can watch us now.”