Ireland embracing chance to make history in Six Nations finale
The Ireland women's team are set to attract a record home crowd for this weekend's Six Nations finale against Scotland. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile
Erin King was in primary school in Qatar the last time Ireland’s Women graced Aviva Stadium in 2014 as part of a championship double header with Joe Schmidt’s men. On Sunday she will lead the national team out onto the same turf for their Guinness Women’s Six Nations finale against Scotland on a historic day for the female game on this island.
With ticket sales having passed 28,000, Ireland are set to attract a record crowd for a home game to make this milestone first standalone women’s game at the Aviva a memorable occasion in more ways than one, and captain King is eager for her side to lean in and embrace rather than park the landmark occasion.
“I think this whole Six Nations has been a Six Nations of occasions,” King said as she soaked up the pre-game setting at Aviva Stadium on Monday. “We've played in Twickenham in front of the biggest Six Nations crowd (77,120) there's ever been. We played in a full Dexcom Stadium (v Italy in round two). That was the biggest (home) crowd (9,206) to date. Then in France, it was a massive occasion.
“I think we're getting used to these occasions and they're not even occasions to us anymore. They are just another match. Saying that, it's still super exciting for us and we're not going to underestimate the privilege that we get getting to be the first squad to make history and play a standalone game in the Aviva. I think we have leaned into it and we really feed off the energy of it and the buzz.”
Adding to that buzz will be the involvement this week of the trailblazing 2014 team, who made their bow on the Aviva as defending Grand Slam champions with a 39-0 defeat of Italy.
King, 22, was only 10 back then, with her family based in the Middle East two years out from a move to Blessington, Co. Wicklow but she revealed the link up between the two generations of Ireland squads.
“Where was I in 2014? I think I was living in Qatar. I was probably in primary school at that point. It's come a long way since then.
“I was always big into my rugby. I played since I could walk. Definitely probably watching in some capacity.
“It's actually really nice. We have a lot of the past players invited to come to the game on Sunday and they're getting their caps and we're all getting our cap numbers which is something that we haven't done before.
“It's going to be a big occasion for them and we're going to pay them their dues for all the work and they paved the way for us. It's going to be a really nice day for them too.”
Ireland will arrive into the Aviva with momentum behind them following last Saturday’s 33-12 win over Wales in Belfast, King’s side’s second victory of the championship after a 57-20 Dexcom Stadium win against Italy in round two. Despite away losses to England and France in rounds one and three, the captain and flanker said her team was determined to complete a hat-trick of home wins this Sunday.
“It's definitely really important for us. We've said we want to win our three home games and it's something that we haven't done in a good while. To get the win against Wales was really important for us to keep building that momentum going into this weekend.
“We can definitely take confidence from parts of that but also to probably take a few learnings. It wasn't an easy game. They really held it to us and it was a bit of a challenge. But I think that also helps us too because we've gone away from that.
“We've regrouped and we've said we need to work on X, Y and Z but we can also take confidence from other things. I think the squad is really excited for this weekend and we're really excited to get going with training and focus on getting the match right and then the occasion comes next.”
While there has been frustration that opportunities have been let slip against both England and France, as well as the Welsh, King accepted that emotion rather than acceptance represented progress of a sort for the Ireland women.
“I think there would have been times that we would have been happy with the result that we got on the weekend against Wales but I think we come out of these games and we probably don't fire as many shots as we think we can and we probably don't come away with the execution when we enter the 22.
“We don't get tries every time and we set higher standards for ourselves now. I think individually and as a team we set those standards. It's probably a way of showing that we have progressed and we are capable of probably more than we expect from ourselves.”
Sunday afternoon on the biggest of stages, in front of a record crowd, would be just the right time to rubber stamp that progress with an emphatic victory to close out the 2026 championship.
“We haven't beaten (Scotland) in a good while. The last time we beat them was when we qualified for the World Cup. I think they're going to fire their shots. They've got some good backs. They've got a good, solid pack. It won't be an easy feat. Last game of the Six Nations, everyone wants to win it. It's going to be a challenge but a challenge we're definitely up for.”
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