McWilliams: ‘It was important for us to show what we’re made of’
Ireland women’s head coach Greg McWilliams praised his side’s composure after they overcame a shaky start to record a 57-22 victory over Japan at the Ecopa Stadium in Fukuroi City on Saturday.
Japan stormed from the traps and opened a 15 point lead before the Irish eventually found their feet and turned the tie around.
With Neve Jones bagging three of their nine tries on the night, it proved to be a perfect start to an historic summer tour for the Irish women’s programme.
“It was important for us to show what we’re made of as a group. I think when we went down 15-0 at the very start, very quickly, many teams could have dropped their heads, but they showed the composure within the group,” McWilliams said.
“It shows that they’re confident in each other and they’re confident in what we’re trying to do. I’m just very proud as a head coach, first and foremost to represent Ireland as a group and to get the win is what you always want to do for your country.
“As management staff and as a player group, we’ve got to be exceptionally proud. The girls have put in a phenomenal amount of work since the Six Nations to try and make sure that we were going to be the best we can be for this tour. Nichola [Fryday] has been absolutely phenomenal as a leader and as a captain. The whole country should be lucky to have her looking after this group of players.”
For this test with the 13th-ranked side in world rugby, McWilliams handed out six debuts. Meabh Deely, Natasja Behan, Aoife Dalton and Dannah O’Brien were all called upon from the start, while Leah Tarpey and Taryn Schultzer made appearances off the bench.
Complementing tries from Dalton and Deely, Carlow teenager O’Brien amassed 12 points including a drop-goal conversion in the dying moments. There was significant pressure on her shoulders lining out in the pivotal position of fly-half, but McWilliams had no doubts over her ability to deliver on the day.
“She’s 18. She has a lot to learn, but we’ve got a generational player there. We’ve got a few of them. Our job now is to develop Dannah and make sure that there’s still areas of her game that she needs to work on,” McWilliams added.
“Again to Tullow, thinking about her family, thinking about her rugby club, they’ve got to be very proud of what they’ve done to develop her. She’s a special talent. I just can’t wait to see where she’s going to get to as an individual.
“If you look at Taryn who came on at the end and Leah Tarpey. Aoife Dalton, Dannah, Meabh Deely, Tash Behan, they’re the future of Irish rugby. They’ve come through the club game and they’re showing that they belong at this stage.”