Today, the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup folds its tents and moves up the M1 from the UCD campus on Dublin’s southside to Belfast.

There was less than a minute gone at the UCD Bowl when England centre Megan Jones shrugged off a poor excuse of a tackle and crossed the Spanish line for the first score of the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup.

MOST staunch New Zealand rugby people support the Black Ferns, four-time Women’s Rugby World Cup winners.

As they prepare for the pool stages of next month’s Women’s Rugby World Cup at the UCD Bowl, Ireland winger Alison Miller believes they can take inspiration from their historic 2014 win over New Zealand.

When you’ve locked horns and beaten women’s rugby giants New Zealand and World Cup champions England in the recent past, taking on highly-ranked Canada isn’t quite the frightening prospect it could be.

Both Munster and Ireland will have confidence soaring after success against All Black sides, writes Donal Lenihan. 

Ireland’s inexperienced women’s out-half Nikki Caughey thought there would be more nerves on her return to the team against Wales last weekend after a two-year absence with injury.

It’s only five months since Ireland made history at the Women’s Rugby World Cup by beating New Zealand in the pool stages and reaching the semi-finals, but the personnel changes since have been seismic.

Head coach Philip Doyle, captain Fiona Coghlan and fellow veteran Lynne Cantwell led the Irish women’s rugby team out for one last time last night, through Dublin Airport’s arrivals hall and into a welcoming scrum of supporters.

WOMEN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP:

If you have yet to see Magali Harvey’s try for Canada against France in Wednesday’s second Women’s World Cup semi-final then all that can be said is get thee to a computer or a smartphone ASAP.

The French rugby union’s HQ in Marcoussis is a quiet enough sort of spot at the best of times, but it must be positively eerie today as so many of its current residents come to terms with the events of Wednesday evening.

When your day job involves clambering up cranes and lots of heavy lifting, lining out against the "old enemy" in a World Cup semi-final is unlikely to shatter your nerves.

Ireland 40 Kazakhstan 5

By doing what no senior Irish team has ever done before, the sensational victory of Ireland’s women rugby players over virtually unbeatable New Zealand has thrown down a gauntlet to their male counterparts in the green jersey.

Ireland’s most capped women’s rugby player Lynne Cantwell said they were confident going into last night’s World Cup match that they could beat New Zealand and believe they can achieve more in the competition.

New Zealand 14 Ireland 17

Inspirational captain Fiona Coghlan has now led the Ireland Women's team to Grand Slam glory and a priceless Test win over New Zealand - and she is not finished yet.

The Irish Women's team have beaten the four-time World Champions New Zealand by 17 points to 14 in their World Cup clash in Paris this evening.

Tania Rosser will win her 50th international cap against her native New Zealand when Ireland face the World Cup champions in Paris this afternoon.

TOP scrum coach Mike Cron, who trains the All Blacks’ scrummagers, is spending a week in the Munster area, working with his Munster counterpart Paul McCarthy and the Munster Rugby Academy and sub Academy players.

HAVE you been following the Women’s Rugby World Cup? It seems a simple enough enquiry, doesn’t it, that I punted at half-a-dozen or more of my laddish, sports-mad, acquaintances in the past week.