Lions tour would give Irish women chance to showcase talent on the big stage, says Munster coach

Ireland players dejected after failing to qualify for the Rugby World Cup. Picture: INPHO/Matteo Ciambelli

The potential women’s Lions tour would give exposure at the highest level to Irish players who have missed out on qualification for next year’s World Cup, should the project go ahead.

That is according to Munster women’s coach Matt Brown, who described the announcement of a committee looking into the feasibility of a women's British & Irish Lions tour taking place in the future as a “landmark day” for the sport.

Two-time Six Nations winner Niamh Briggs will be a part of the 13-person group to be chaired by Ieuan Evans, who went on three Lions tours as a player, with Anthony Eddy, the director of Sevens and women's rugby at the IRFU also involved.

“I think the fact it is being talked about is a huge step forward to take the best out of Great Britain and Ireland and to be showcasing the best of what they’ve got to offer,” said Brown, who led Munster to the inter-pro title this year.

“It would be incredible for them and, without rubbing salt into the wounds of the Irish women not making the World Cup, if something was to come off the back of this in a couple of years, it would give them the exposure they will probably miss out on in 2022.”

While the qualifier defeats to Spain and Scotland led to calls for greater funding at grassroots level, Brown says a British & Irish Lions women’s team would have positive long-term effects for the players taking up the sport.

“The big thing is to make the game more visible and it would tick that box and then by association the numbers playing it at the grassroots level increases,” Brown argues. “There has been a huge push to get girls playing rugby and the numbers are going up. Although it’s not without its teething problems it’s definitely going in the right direction.

“The more visible they are, the more attractive they become for revenue streams and ultimately, like it or not, we will probably be dictated to by revenue.

“In the long-term you broaden the base and push more girls up there but in the short term, take the best of what you’ve got and put them out there.”

Coaching the Munster women, Old Crescent in the men’s AIL and Crescent Comprehensive in the Schools Cup has also shown Brown how when players make the step up to inter-provincial or international level, it gives a boost to the wider squads as a whole.

“In that Munster group, the girls coming down from international camp are certainly well looked up to by the younger girls. Just because they don’t get paid doesn’t make them less professional, from what I’ve seen, they operate at a different level, it blows your mind. To see the younger girls come into a set-up like that, you can’t help but pick up stuff when you’re rubbing shoulders with them.

“If you take that to another level and they pick up more new stuff then you would hope it would have a positive effect on everybody around them.

With the round-robin stage of the Munster Senior Schools Cup starting on Wednesday, the players who have had exposure with the Munster men’s underage teams have provided inspiration to the younger players on the teams. Brown says there is no reason to doubt the same wouldn’t happen with female players playing at a higher standard.

“This year, in the (Crescent) Comp especially, we had a good number involved with Munster set-ups and they’re coming back and they’re outstanding, it’s really good.

“You then have Transition Years coming in rubbing shoulders with that group. In that regard it’s very much the same so you could transfer that to the girl’s game.”