'We can't sit still': Wafer and Ireland turn focus to French mission

Ireland's Aoife Wafer and Robyn O’Connor celebrate after the match. Pic: Dan Sheridan/Inpho

Aoife Wafer has backed her Ireland squadmates to not stand still following their emphatic 57-20 victory over Italy, as they turn their focus on a revenge mission in France this Saturday.

The Ireland No.8 was back to her best in Galway, contributing a try and turning in a typically powerhouse performance during her 56 minutes on the pitch at Dexcom Stadium as Ireland rebounded from an opening-round 33-12 loss in England. 

Now comes another tough ask, a trip to Clermont’s Stade Marcel-Michelin to face a France side which edged them 18-13 in last September’s World Cup quarter-final in Exeter.

That had been Wafer’s comeback game from a lengthy injury absence, and she was the victim of a bite on the arm that went unpunished as Ireland led 13-0 on 42 minutes, with France flanker Axelle Barthoumieu later banned for 12 weeks. The outcome of the match alone still hurts, the 23-year-old admitted but she was also intent on her team continuing to build on the momentum created by their big win over the Italians.

“I think this group is constantly evolving. I think if you sit still too long, you get taken over by other teams and we don't plan on ever letting that happen,” Wafer said.

“So it's about growing as a squad. We've shown that we've grown even just the week that's gone with that English game. But we can't sit still. We've got to keep going and keep motoring on to rip into France.” 

That will be helped by the motivation gained from seeking revenge on the French seven months on.

“That game hurt, for me personally, it still hurts. But that’s not the be-all and end-all of why we want to win that game as well. We've spoken a lot about breaking into that (Six Nations) top two and beating Tier One nations.

“Erin (King) has spoken about it all week. We spoke about it as a group all week in terms of we can't just keep talking, we have to actually do it. And I think that was a big thing going into this week as well; we can't just sit back and keep talking about doing X, Y and Z, we have to go out and action it. And we did today, and I'm sure we will again next week.” 

After playing in front of 77,000 at Twickenham, Wafer feels Ireland are well equipped to cope with the white-hot atmosphere a Clermont home game can create for their team.

“Look, there's no denying that the French crowd is built different. They're loud, they’ve brass bands probably in every corner. They're crazy. It's a completely different atmosphere than what you get in any other game. And fortunately enough, I played in that Le Mans game two years ago. I was at the Toulouse game four years ago and it's just different.

“But they'll all want to be playing the brass band, playing trumpets, whatnot, and we'll just be wanting to quieten it. So when the trumpets stop playing, and we start getting our game on, that's when we know we're doing a good job.”