In the world of high performance sport there is only the present - no future or past
Last Friday I was on the Dublin to Cork train.
As we pulled into Kent station there was an older couple discussing sport and what the weekend had in store. The lady was speaking about the Irish women’s rugby win against New Zealand and the possibility of the team going all the way to win the World Cup. Herself and her partner were debating why this might or might not happen.
A few months ago, I went to watch the women’s team playing against Scotland in Ashbourne. I had never seen them play and wanted to check out a game. Next to me there was a little girl with her dad shouting the Irish women on. I went to rugby matches as a little girl with my dad, I only ever saw the men play. It struck me as a sign of progression to see this little girl watching the women’s team play. Everyone needs heroes and they played a heroic role wonderfully that evening.
There has been much written in the past few days about the Irish women’s rugby team. It’s delusional to think women’s sport gets the same coverage as men’s. This team has had to beat the best team in the world and make history for us all to go bananas about them. They combine their work with their sport and struggle to pull in large amounts of funding. Their training camps are crammed into intense weekends when they have days off work.
Yet all of the interviews I have read and heard from the women involved are always focused on their rugby. They don’t moan. There are loads of things these players could take issue with. Lack of coverage, funding etc but they choose not too. Their constant focus on their sport oozes class.
During the women’s Six Nations campaign I read Lynne Cantwell’s column in the Irish Times. She was formerly a track athlete, so naturally I have a bias towards her! It was an excellent insight into the workings of the Irish women’s rugby team. Cantwell has been part of the women’s rugby campaign for a long time. She was on the pitch in 2001 when they were thrashed 79-0 by England. She was vice captain when they won the Grand Slam. The story that comes out of her column is of a group of sportspeople working their asses off to be the best they can be.
Cantwell wrote: “This is a squad of ladies I will be proud to be associated with”. This message speaks volumes.
Ireland need to beat England to take another step towards World Cup glory. The fact they have beaten New Zealand is now irrelevant. It’s in the past. It seems fitting that the team will line up to face England in the semi-final. They have been the team that Ireland has measured themselves against for the past 13 years.
Cantwell wrote of the team’s belief in her column, “we are forever a team of believers”. This belief has been key to their success. It’s easy to believe when the results are good but for this team to have believed long before any of us saw results and jumped on their bandwagon is a tribute to their mental prowess. Belief is what keeps you going.
To beat England and progress to the final is going to take a performance of epic proportions. The English team have unfinished business in the World Cup. They made the semi-final in 2006 and 2010. They are possibly the best-prepared team in the competition in terms of funding and structures. They have had a development pathway for the women’s game for years and the Irish have been playing catch up.
Yet beating the Irish team is not going to be a straightforward affair. They are dealing with a team that has been consistently learning and evolving. Every defeat has brought fresh analysis and solutions. The loss to the English at Twickenham this year will have served as a way to get better for the World Cup. A painful way to learn but it’s never a bad thing to learn these types of lessons in the year of a World Cup.
The Irish women’s rugby team are living in the now. They will battle hard with England to make their way into a World Cup final. They can’t think about how far they have come or how much they have achieved. It’s too much to think about, they have a job to do.
They are the temporary custodians of Irish women’s rugby and they are doing an incredible job. These women are role models for kids all around the country who want to be just like them. They are leading by example. Women’s sport could not ask for a better advertisement than seeing them do battle in the Irish jersey.
All any of us can do is attempt to leave something in a better condition than we found it. By progressing their sport inch by inch that is what the Irish rugby women have achieved. Regardless of the result on tomorrow evening in the Stade Jean Bouin this Irish rugby team has done an inspiring job for their sport. They are living in the present but guaranteeing a bright future.
