‘Training Against France Was Really Valuable’ – Hogan

An intense training session with France earlier this week was ‘really useful’ for the Ireland squad according to Brittany Hogan, as both teams prepare for the WXV1 tournament in Vancouver.

Ireland make the step up to the top tier thanks to their third place finish in the 2024 Guinness Women’s Six Nations. They will face World champions New Zealand in their first match, followed by clashes with hosts Canada and the USA.

Number 8 Hogan is pleased with how training has gone, ahead of Sunday’s showdown with the Black Ferns at BC Place (kick-off 7pm local time/3am Irish time – live on RugbyPass TV/BBC iPlayer).

“We had a good blowout in the Canadian rain, but it was good to put into action on the pitch what we’d walked through in our meetings. It was very valuable to us to see that come to fruition,” she said.

“When you’re training against each other we all know the plays, so to have a team that has no idea what we’re doing was really valuable.”

IRELAND’S WXV1 FIXTURES:

• Sunday, September 29: New Zealand v Ireland, BC Place, 7pm local time/3am Irish time (live on RugbyPass TV)
• Saturday, October 5: Canada v Ireland, Langley Events Centre, 3.45pm local time/11.45pm Irish time (live on RugbyPass TV)
• Friday, October 11: USA v Ireland, BC Place, 12.30pm local time/8.30pm Irish time (live on RugbyPass TV)

For the full list of WXV1 matches, please click here.