The sights and sounds of Six Nations camp are upon us, with new faces added to some familiar ones. Bags packed, boots gleaming, we reconvened on Tuesday, March 31st, having had a camp in January to try to wring out any lingering disappointment from last year’s World Cup. Time to look forward and connect with what is a new group.
Heartbreak was the word I think that best summed up the feelings of the majority in the aftermath of the quarter-final defeat to France. I remember the phrase “pathetic fallacy” from my school days. It came to mind when the wind and rain whipped over us at Sandy Park during the game, our postgame mood linked to the weather – disappointment, sadness, anger.
It’s a reminder that sport owes you nothing. The World Cup was an amazing journey, on the pitch and off. We appreciated the support of friends, family and the “green wave”, our supporters. We brought down the curtain with a squad and family night – beers, tears and singing, lots of singing.
The squad dispersed, some straight back to working nine-to-fives , some girls back into Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) in England. I had planned to travel with my partner, Ross Corrigan, after the tournament but when we got knocked out of the World Cup I returned home, changed flights and headed to China.
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Ross was competing for Ireland in the World Rowing Championships. In the company of my sister, Lynn, I watched him, along with his pairs partner Nathan Timoney, finish sixth. Ross and I headed for Japan, the starting point for our travelogue, visiting Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima.
I’ve been lucky enough to travel extensively with the Ireland sevens team, but this gave me a chance to explore on a much wider scale. A two-day delay in getting a visa for Vietnam introduced a little anxiety.
We embraced the Ha Giang loop motorbike tour, a 400km trek over four days. It was a brilliant experience and something I never thought I’d do in my life. Highlights include watching Ross, who is 6ft 3in, get on the back of his driver Ling’s motorbike every day. With Ling weighing in at about 100kg there wasn’t much room on the bike. It’s fair enough to describe it as close quarters.
There were other spectacular views, and trekking through mountains and eating with locals for breakfast, lunch and dinner was an amazing experience. At dinner the locals would present us with what they called “happy water”. This was pretty much their version of vodka. Every night we would toast and sing a chant with them before we ate.
From Vietnam we headed for Australia, where we met so many family members and friends. Sent off on our holidays with a return-to-play schedule and a GPS, we joined gyms and bought footwear for runs to maintain our commitment to training. We structured our days around getting our fitness commitments out of the way as it allowed us to head to the beach with a clear conscience.
After 2½ months’ travelling, it was time to come down from the mountain, so to speak, and get back to reality. The cushioning effect was returning to the embrace of family and friends but coming home to an Irish winter from an Australian summer took a fair bit of acclimatisation.
When I returned to rugby training it struck me forcibly that I hadn’t fully processed the disappointment of the World Cup. Part of it was still stuck in there somewhere. Perhaps it was the “out of sight” mentality from heading away on holiday rather than returning home that pushed those feelings beneath the surface.
The circle of family and friends helped me to process everything and get back to concentrating on rugby. My reintroduction was to play in the Celtic Challenge. The PWR was in full flow in England. Our Ireland camp in January came and went. We set tasks and goals.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching the men’s Six Nations, the best and most competitive tournament in recent times in my opinion. There were so many brilliant matches, and part of the appeal was the number of results that defied prematch opinion. It was great to watch purely as a spectator.
Italy were able to deliver results; Scotland, that huge performance that denied a previously rampant France, who looked like they would win the Grand Slam. In the end they had to be grateful for a championship title, as England almost did Ireland a favour.
It got me excited about what we are facing, starting with a trip to a nearly sold-out Twickenham where we will face world champions England, playing their first match since claiming the title. It gets the adrenaline flowing just thinking about Saturday.
[ Niamh Briggs hails exciting time for women’s rugby as Six Nations set to beginOpens in new window ]
For those not based in England, the Celtic Challenge consumed our rugby landscape and I was delighted that the two Irish teams, the Wolfhounds – who I play for – and the Clovers, contested the recent final. We came out on top.
Reunited with the girls from the PWR, we are looking to continue the progress that we have made in the upcoming Six Nations. There is excitement, a buzz that gets everyone focused on the work ahead. Playing in front of a huge crowd at Twickenham will be a great test of where we are as a group.
We have three home matches in the tournament that will take us to the Dexcom Stadium in Galway and the Affidea Stadium in Belfast before we have our very first stand-alone fixture at the Aviva Stadium, where we take on Scotland in the final round of matches on May 17th. What an occasion that promises to be.
First, though, we turn our attention to England. The teams are well known to each other. Our goal is to focus on what we want to do to produce a good performance. The “green wave” is starting its 2026 journey this weekend so make sure you’re watching this weekend and then get on board.
