Ireland 19 Wales 27: Visitors run in five tries to open Women’s Six Nations campaign with hard-fought win
ALISHA BUTCHERS believes the impact of professionalism was clear to see as Wales staged a stunning second-half comeback to beat Ireland 27-19 in the TikTok Women’s Six Nations.
Wales were playing their first Championship game since 12 players were offered full-time contracts for the first time in January, with a further dozen on part-time contracts.
But it looked as though it was going to be Ireland’s day in Dublin after tries from Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe and Linda Djougang put the hosts 14-5 ahead at the break.
Jasmine Joyce added to Carys Phillips’ first-half try after the restart to keep Wales in touch but Stacey Flood’s score on 56 minutes seemed to put the result beyond doubt.
However, two quickfire tries for replacement prop Donna Rose either side of a yellow card for Eimear Considine saw Wales take the lead before Hannah Jones wrapped up the result late on.
And Butchers insisted that all the hard work Wales’ players had put in since their disastrous sixth-place finish in last year’s Championship had paid off as they claimed a memorable win.
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“It’s something we’ve been working on for a long time, the second-half performances,” said Butchers, who was named Player of the Match at the RDS Arena.
“We felt it was something that was letting us down so we wanted to come out and prove that all our hard work over the last four months has paid off.
“We did feel a little bit more pressure coming into this campaign now that we’re professional, but rightly so. I’m lucky enough to have a contract and I can give my all to this sport.
“The growth in the last 12 months has been incredible. Playing here in Dublin against a tough Ireland team, in front of their home crowd, we’ve really done ourselves proud.”
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Ten of Wales’ starting XV became full-time athletes in January and they all played a key role as the visitors ended a seven-game losing streak in the TikTok Women’s Six Nations.
But while it was a dream start for new head coach Ioan Cunningham, Ireland’s turbulent period on and off the pitch continued following their failure to qualify for this year’s Rugby World Cup.
The TikTok Women’s Six Nations is more accessible than ever before. To find out how you can watch the Women’s Championship visit: womens.sixnationsrugby.com/tv/