Dannah O’Brien recalls travelling up from Carlow for her first match at the Aviva Stadium as a child, a Heineken Cup encounter between Leinster and Clermont.
She got to play at the stadium herself in May, when a record 31,294 tickets were snapped up for Ireland’s 54-5 victory over Scotland in the final round of the Six Nations. The outhalf can’t wait to do it again when England visit on May 8th next year after the IRFU confirmed the fixture on Wednesday.
But with Ireland preparing to face Japan for the second time in six days on Saturday, O’Brien’s focus for now is firmly on the third Test of a busy international window. However, she was happy to look ahead to the historic encounter with the Red Roses.
Historic opening weekend ends in defeat for all Irish provinces
“It’s massive news for us,” said O’Brien. “We’ll be really looking forward to that, building into the next Six Nations.
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“I know it’s not something we’re looking at now, and we’re mid-campaign, but it’s really exciting for the women’s game. To have another stand-alone fixture like that against England, I’m sure there’ll be a massive crowd.”
Ireland begin the championship against Scotland at Murrayfield on April 10th before hosting France, with away trips to Wales and Italy coming either side of the England clash.
That penultimate-round fixture in Dublin will be the headline act for Scott Bemand’s side, with Ireland already targeting a full house for the occasion.
“It was really cool to not just play in the Aviva, but to have such a crowd there,” said O’Brien of the Scotland game. “Thankfully we had a good performance, it was a massive occasion for our squad. You’ve watched games there as a kid growing up, so it was a bit surreal running out.”
Looking to Saturday’s game, having beaten Japan 31-24 in Galway last Sunday, the sides have a quick turnaround to their meeting at Virgin Media Park.
“Japan are a side that I personally always enjoy playing against,” said O’Brien, having made her debut against them four years ago. “They’re a really good, I suppose, friendly opposition, but they definitely brought the competition last week and they’re very physical.”
O’Brien has clearly been given greater scope to use the ball in this window, as the team strives to find a better balance going forward.
“We’re trying to adapt our style to have a better mix of attacking play, rather than just kicking,” said the 23-year-old. “We’re growing individually, and I’m trying to grow that side as well. And as a squad, we’re trying to be more confident with the ball.”
That suits O’Brien, who wants to retain her kicking strength while becoming a more rounded playmaker.
“I do enjoy it,” she added. “It’s probably more entertaining to watch as well, for the supporters. Personally, my best game is my kicking game as well. It’s nice to have a balance of the two now and not just rely on one.”
Aoife Wafer is likely to be ruled out with an ankle issue, with Ireland unwilling to take unnecessary risks for a game outside the Global WXV series window. However, Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald is available after picking up a knock.
“Aoife is tracking well, but we’ll err more so on the side of caution in terms of risking her,” said scrum coach Denis Fogarty.
Ireland conceded 11 penalties in their opening WXV series defeat to the USA and were penalised 16 times against Japan last weekend, so there’s certainly room for improvement on that front.
“It’s just to look back on ourselves and say, can we be a step further onside and just not give away silly penalties, especially when we’re looking at, say, your Six Nations teams,” said Fogarty.
“You give away that many in games, it’s going to be tight – you’re effectively going to lose the game.”
O’Brien, meanwhile, feels their performances have improved as the squad has had an extended period together.
“We’ve been in camp for five or six weeks now,” she said. “I definitely think we’re building our performances each week. Every time we come back in, we’re just looking to get a bit better.”
