Rugby
Katy Daley-McLean 6y

World-record attendance the level women's Six Nations should be at

Rugby, Women's Rugby World Cup

There is still bitter disappointment in the squad after the last-gasp defeat to France in front of a world record crowd in Grenoble. We went there to win, give ourselves the best opportunity of going for a Grand Slam this weekend but we fell short.

But the atmosphere in the stadium was incredible. That level is where all our games should be at. We should be having lots of people watching us. It adds to the excitement, the noise is deafening and the fans are so passionate.

It is amazing and what you expect when you go to France. When you go there you see the public support the women's team. We go there and the stadium is full of flags, with my dad, and other parents, the only ones wrapped in England flags. Out of the 17,440 people there, about 17,400 of them were French. We don't play in front of those crowds enough.

For us, we want to be the best and we want to be playing in front of as many people as possible. It adds to the pressure on the team, having that much support but I absolutely love it. That should be the norm in women's rugby. Hopefully that will be what it is like for us on Friday night against Ireland.

Heartbreak

After the bitter disappointment in France, the beauty of the Six Nations is that we don't have to wait six months to put things right. We shouldn't let our late slip up against France judge our entire campaign. But when we look back it was just individual errors in a game where one point was everything.

We couldn't afford not to covert the opportunities we made in the French 22 and we have to take those lessons forward against Ireland. The players, the coaches and staff have put so much hard work into these games and when it doesn't come off, you are bitterly disappointed. But like I said the opportunity to go again and put those mistakes to bed, rather than having to wait months for another Test is great.

We know we need to be better and it's nice to be able to return home and face Ireland at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry. We've a new set of fans who haven't seen us play, 8,000 tickets sold and after the defeat to France some of the weight of expectation has been lifted.

Outside chance

Despite our defeat, we are only three points behind France. Nothing is won yet. There is still an opportunity with Wales playing France but for us, the most important thing is to do the job against Ireland, making sure we get that win. We'll see what happens then.

We have to finish on a high. The Six Nations is amazing. It is up there with the World Cup and you have to appreciate that. You get to play so many good sides in a seven-week window. The level of intensity is at the highest level and my body is looking forward to having a bit of a rest. We have played some really good rugby. That one low point should not define our campaign.

After back-to-back continuous seasons, and with no summer tour this year, we get a bit of a break. It will give us the chance to have a proper rest and have a good pre-season to prepare

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