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It Was Thirty Years Ago Today: Jo Moore And Aoife Rodgers On Ireland’s First Women’s International

Today is the 30th anniversary of Ireland's first Women's International

February 14th, 1993, is a day to rank amongst the most important in the history of Irish Rugby. Thirty years later we remember a remarkable group of women who were the first to represent Ireland in an international rugby match.

They assembled in Edinburgh the night before the game and got to know each other sitting on the stairs of their guesthouse. On match day they pulled on their remarkably oversize jerseys and set about making history.

The recent TG4 documentary Rugbaí na mBan: Ag Briseadh Tríd gave an insight into their legacy. Today we hear from two of the original team; two inspirational people who just wanted to be the best they could be and represent their country with pride; club mates, teammates and friends for thirty years, Jo Moore and Aoife Rodgers share their memories of that day.

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Scotland won the day 10-0, in what was also their first ever Women’s international but the links run deep and the teams met up again on the 25th anniversary – nothing fancy or formal, just a chance to remember an historic day. The IRFU also marked the 25th anniversary with a formal cap ceremony that brought together generations of Women’s Internationals in 2018.

Clare Hoppe was a member of the Ireland team that first day. She sadly passed away in 2022 but her niece, Helen Nelson, lined out for Scotland against Ireland in the TikTok Women’s Six Nations just a few days later – the links run deep.