France ‘not anything to be afraid of’, says dynamic Jenny Murphy

No-one did more to bail Ireland out than Jenny Murphy when Australia had them under the pump in their Pool C opener eight days ago.

Time and again the 5’9”, 12-stone-plus centre put her body on the line with ferocious tackles that stemmed the rising Wallaroo tide before an ankle injury eventually forced her off early in the second half.

Prudence decreed that she should sit out the equally nervy win against Japan last weekend but the Old Belvedere back set the tone for the host nation again last night ahead of their all-or-nothing encounter with the fancied French at UCD.