Finn set to make Six Nations bow
By Thomas Conway
Caitríona Finn has been selected as part of Ireland head coach Scott Bemand’s 36-player squad for this year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations tournament, which gets underway on Saturday, April 11th.
The sweet-striking out-half, who hails from Garrykennedy and played with both Nenagh Ormond and Ballina/Killaloe at underage level, flourished for Munster in last season’s interprovincial championships and was subsequently granted an Irish senior contract in November. The UL student is one of 35 players currently training several days a week at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Blanchardstown.
Finn’s inclusion in the Ireland squad is therefore not a surprise. The real question is whether she can pin down a starting place, a target she hinted was on her radar during an interview with the Nenagh Guardian in December.
“Making my debut during the Six Nations is my biggest goal right now,” she said.
“I’d love to be fighting for a starting position. That’s always my goal. Even when I went in last year, just to be involved in the camps, my focus was on starting and getting my debut. I want to keep growing and become the rugby player I’ve always wanted to be. But I know a lot of things take time.”
While Ireland have finished third in the past two editions of the tournament and will be looking to improve on that position, heavyweights France and reigning champions England will once again enter the competition as hot favourites. Ireland will be up against it.
They face trips to both countries, and will open the championship with a clash against England at Twickenham on April 11th. They host Italy at the Dexcom Stadium in Galway the following Saturday, before making the journey to France for Round 3. The visit of the Welsh to the Affidea Stadium in Belfast should be an interesting affair, but it is Ireland’s final game with Scotland, due to be held at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday, May 17th, that has attracted the most enthusiasm.
The occasion will mark the first time the Irish women’s team has played an individual fixture in the Lansdowne Road venue.