Killeagh by Kingfishr rang out from the dressingrooms before the Irish players emerged to talk about beating Japan in their Rugby World Cup opener. The mood after the 42-14 win went something like this: relieved, jubilant, determined.
Relief that after a gruelling pre-season, two warm-up games and a 10-day stint in Northampton, the first game was over with a bonus point in tow. Jubilant that it had gone their way. Determined to adapt, adjust and reassemble before facing Spain next Sunday.
Béibhinn Parsons described it as one of those “incredible days that you dream of and that power you through all those hard times”.
Parsons made her first 15s start after returning from consecutive leg-break injuries sustained with the sevens team at the Paris Olympics and then in Cape Town.
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“I need to take a second now and just take it all in because you’re so in the moment and you’re so driven by the next job," she said. “But like Scott (Bemand - Ireland head coach) said, we want to celebrate our win and get energy from that and then we bring that into next week.
“Running out is very similar to the Olympics, that feeling of just pure excitement and your body’s buzzing. But being able to control that [is important] and I think we got into our game quickly and we were able to implement our game plan. So we’re really proud of that.”
After a decent build-up going into this game, initially it looked like Ireland had been let loose; a spring released.
“We knew we wanted to get on top,” added the 23-year-old. “We want to have the momentum and we want to implement our own game plan and not be on the back foot at all. So we’re really proud of how we came out and everyone was switched on."
Parsons was there when Ireland were beaten by Spain in Parma, which ended all hopes of getting to the previous World Cup. But she says that isn’t on the players’ minds ahead of a reunion with the Spanish.
“We’ve had another hard-fought game against Spain since then and we came out on top,” she pointed out. “This is a new group and this is a whole new experience for us. I don’t think we’ll be bringing in any hangover of something from before. This is a fresh start for us and we’re going to come out firing against Spain.”
While Ireland are favourites going into the game against Spain, Parsons insists complacency is not a problem.
“I think we’re definitely still in the depths of these pool stages and we have our heads screwed on, so I don’t think we’ll be going too crazy [celebrating],” she said. “I’ve played Spain a handful of times across sevens and 15s and they’re a hardy team.
“They have a lot of fight, just like us, and we know it’ll be an 80-minute game. We’ll have to rest up now and get ready for that. We have lots to work on and I think we know that.
“Having a win like that and getting that many scores on the board, with it also not being our cleanest performance, is actually a good thing. We’ll have a lot of fixes this weekend and we’ll go into Spain firing. I think we’ll start unlocking our edges a bit more and I think that’ll be really exciting.”
A sizeable contingent of Ireland fans made it to Franklin’s Gardens in Northampton for the opening game. Parsons hopes to see the green wave in full force again next Sunday.
She added: “Around the crowd, we could feel that energy and we know they’re really behind us. I think people are sending me posters that they’re putting up at home. Ballinasloe is such a great town to be from, they’re always backing us.
“I think because I’ve come through this group and I started so young, I feel like I’ve had my own wave of a journey. I can really relate with younger players and also now I’m tipping into more of a senior player.
“So I feel like that wave is just how you bring people along and how you inspire a nation. For me personally, I’ve seen how much it’s grown, this team and the support behind it. It’s just phenomenal.”
