Ciara Griffin: Future is bright for Ireland women's rugby

Ireland's Ciara Griffin celebrates with the team after making her final appearance for Ireland. Picture: INPHO

Ciara Griffin is adamant the Ireland women’s rugby team have a bright future ahead of them after she exited the international stage in spectacular fashion against Japan at the RDS on Saturday.

Captaining her country for the 24th and final time, the retiring Kerry native grabbed a brace of second half tries to turn a 12-3 interval deficit into an eventual three-point victory. In what was also Adam Griggs’ swan song as head coach, a resilient Ireland overcame the 29th-minute dismissal of Hannah O’Connor to make it an ideal send-off on two fronts.