'We're here to do jobs' - Ireland out to spoil England Women's World Cup winners' homecoming

The championship opener at Twickenham has already attracted 75,000 supporters but Ireland captain Erin King says their focus will be on their own performance.

BOW DOWN TO THE KING: Erin King during an Ireland Women's Rugby squad training session at the IRFU High Performance Centre. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile.

Ireland captain Erin King has insisted her team will not be at Twickenham as a support act to England’s World Cup winner’s party when the Guinness Women’s Six Nations campaign kicks off in London on Saturday afternoon (2:25pm).

The world champions will be playing their first game since being crowned at the same stadium last autumn following their final victory over Canada.

The championship opener has already attracted 75,000 supporters but the newly-minted skipper, set to win just her eighth cap as she makes her international comeback from an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained against England in last season’s Six Nations, said Ireland’s focus will be on their own performance.

“I think sometimes people can get caught up in all of that, and while it is really exciting, I think we're here to do jobs,” King said on Friday following Ireland’s captain’s run at Allianz Stadium.

“We're rugby players and that's what we love to do at the end of the day. And if there was two people in the crowd, I think we'd all still be here.

"For us, our main focus is just the match and not the occasion. It's brilliant that it is an occasion, but what matters to us is the stuff that happens in between the four white lines.

“So, if we can get that stuff right, I think we'll be happy.”

Former Ireland Sevens Olympian King, 22, will be playing at Twickenham for the first time on Saturday, though as a child she visited the 80,000-capacity stadium for a tour, and her first glimpse as a player on Friday gave her an opportunity to visualise how it will look with a potentially sell-out crowd.

“Yes, I've definitely thought about it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't. But yes, just so much excitement. It's such an amazing opportunity for us to get to play in such a great stadium, which will hopefully be full.

“It's what we deserve and it's great. But for us, really, I guess our main focus is on England and on ourselves and putting in that performance that we can be proud of.”

The back-rower added Irish teams were no longer daunted by games of this stature.

“I would hope so. I think we've seen it with the men's. We've seen it with even our team before. The girls have played in big stadiums that are full in the World Cup and put in performances. So, I think we are past those days.

“We've had a great two-week of prep, so I think the team is in a really, really good place. It's a great squad and it's full of talent, so I really do have belief in this team, and I do think we have shown evidence to back that belief up.”