‘Players And Coaches Are Learning So Much On This Tour’ – Briggs

It was another hot and humid day in Tokyo as the Ireland squad build towards their second Test showdown with Japan this weekend.

Assistant coach Niamh Briggs spoke today about dealing with the conditions, learning more about players, adapting the training plan, and seeing the ‘training age’ of young players pay dividends.

“Players are getting used to backing up training sessions and recovery,” she told Irish Rugby TV. “We have to develop the robustness and resilience to do that.

“We put a huge amount of effort into the first game and we’re still trying to recover. We’re learning and educating the players and we can do a huge amount of that off the pitch.

“This two weeks are so important for us as we go forward – how we train, how we recover, the importance of nutrition. Regardless of the result, that’s a huge win for us.”

Asked about the younger cohort of players in the squad, Briggs added: “They’ve come in with no fear. I love the fact that their training age, even though they’re 18 or 19, is bigger than some of the girls that are older in the squad, because they’ve been playing since they were kids.”