‘A Lot Of Players Put Their Hands Up’ – Greg McWilliams On #EnergiaAIL Women’s Finale
Ireland Women's head coach Greg McWilliams and assistant coach Niamh Briggs were both present at Energia Park for the Energia All-Ireland League Women's finals ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Ireland head coach Greg McWilliams says a lot of players put their hands up for selection at the showpiece of the Energia All-Ireland League Women’s Division season.
Railway Union held off Blackrock College in a thrilling Donnybrook final, while Suttonians picked up silverware at the expense of Galwegians in the inaugural Conference decider.
The Ireland squad will assemble at the IRFU High Performance Centre this weekend as preparations ramp up for the TikTok Women’s Six Nations Championship, which begins on Saturday, March 26.
McWilliams was in Energia Park on Saturday to case his eye over the finals and has been a regular attendee at All-Ireland League matches this season.
“I thought that a lot of players put their hands up,” he told Irish Rugby TV. “Their skill-set was good under pressure. I think they’re really well coached so there’s a lot that we can look at.
“I’ve loved going around the country and watching the games. I think there’s some terrific talent and we just need to continue to grow as a league and work on our technical and tactical development and work on our fitness so that we’re able to withstand long periods of high intensity, looking after the ball and playing a really vibrant style of rugby.
“The work that is being done in the IRFU is fantastic. Collie (McEntee, the IRFU Rugby Development Director) has done a huge amount around transforming the league and how we can make it competitive for not just the top-end teams.
“We saw in the Conference final, a really good match because you had two teams that were similar and were able to showcase their skills. They’ll learn a lot from that and they’ll continue to get better.
“I thought the intensity was superb and it’s a product of all the work that is going on. There’s a lot of brilliant things happening and our job is to continuously feed the positive. We’re moving forward and we’re really excited about it.”