Eimear Ryan: WNT the first national team, in any sport, I can identify with

Why do I come over all tribal when I watch the girls in green? Why am I suddenly bursting with national pride over a sport I’ve never played and don’t intimately understand?

MY KINDA CREW: Katie McCabe of Republic of Ireland after the UEFA Women's Nations League B1 match between Hungary and Republic of Ireland at Hidegkuti Nándor Stadium in Budapest, Hungary. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Last weekend I was one of 35,944 screaming Ireland fans in the Aviva stadium for Ireland’s first game in the Women’s Nations League. It was truly an out of body experience, made special by the sunshine, the three goals, and the sense that, after a tricky first World Cup, this squad has garnered a huge following and a great deal of goodwill.

Eileen Gleeson’s interim management team is off to a flying start. On Tuesday night, they added another four goals against hosts Hungary, and are sitting comfortably at the top of the table: seven goals, six points, two clean sheets. New finds like Caitlin Hayes, young talent like Izzy Atkinson, Tyler Toland and Abbie Larkin, and the long list of injured players due to come back into the fold – like Megan Campbell, Ruesha Littlejohn, Niamh Fahey and Sinead Farrelly – speaks to the depth and breadth of the squad.