Ireland hope Women’s Rugby World Cup will leave a lasting legacy

When the Women’s Rugby World Cup ends on August 26, when the biggest sporting event to take place on the island of Ireland since the 2006 Ryder Cup folds up its tent and leaves town, the questions will be asked: what kind of legacy will the tournament leave, and will women’s rugby prosper and grow at grassroots level thereafter?

Nobody can predict the future, though one could argue that the best way to predict the future is to have the power to shape it.

The Ireland Women’s team has, arguably, a unique opportunity to shape the game’s immediate future and broaden the game’s appeal to a new generation of girls.