Like that doesn't allow a lot of time for anything really.

No, but it's where it is.

I know that it does eliminate some girls who are ambitious in their career.

I've seen that, you know, I can't do this anymore because I want to advance in my career.

Like, that's really hard.

There's two kind of sides to it.

I've always...

You know? And can you talk a little bit about what was going on at that point in your situation?

And I think, um, I was watching back the, uh, France, Scotland game, and just seeing, uh, Medouza Fol-Ratcla, her tackle on Leah Bartlett, that's the sort of thing that England have not tasted at all yet in this Six Nations, and France will bring that.

Yeah, 100%, but also, E- England haven't had to really.

So they, you know, I know we could argue that, yeah, they've, they've let in, they've let in tries and they've conceded bonus points, like, you know, that which is a huge result for the opposition team, you know, and, and, like, that's so unlike England.

But it has to be somewhat fatiguing to be so good that you've to kind of keep that hunger drive going for a whole 80 minutes when the game is already tied up.

Like, they, they've been doing that for years, you know, that they've, uh, like the game has been tied up so they can't, like, stay on their feet.

And I know why it is, it's because they're, they, they're competitive for their positions.

That's been really helpful.

H- where are your emotions at right now?

What did you make of the performance?

I thought it was good.

I really enjoyed it.

I think it was ...

I, I know that when we look back at that Italy one with the nine tries and the sunshine and the, you know, the occasion, the Dexcom, it was really, really fun, but I think that Wales were much better than Italy were and posed a bigger, uh, certainly defensive challenge.

And then were, you know, pushed Ireland's defense as well, and Ireland need that more.

Like, you know, they need to put in that 80-minute stint and not panic.

Yeah.

So we were kind of a touch worried last week, the sloppiness against England, would that be something more prolonged, or was it just, uh, akin to last year against France in round one, where they improved dramatically from round one to two and beyond? And I guess 57-20 at the Dexcom against Italy with nine tries scored, seven in the first half, some of them brilliant tries as well, that would suggest the more optimistic interpretation.

Yeah, it would.

And I suppose it's kind of...

It, is it kind of a natural progression? Like, it's not the hugest shock that, you know, it went from England into Italy the way it did because everyone, oh, you just know how much of a massive challenge England is number one, and in front of a full house in Twickenham.

So I think they backed up, you know, everything that they, they came into the tournament with, that English...

Even including that England performance because considering everything, you know, the context of everything, it kind of makes sense.

So it just was really satisfying to get tho- that number of tries, that scoreline, that number of tries from a variety of areas on the park.

Mm.

[laughs]

Like, just four tries and that's all.

And also, you, you know, scoring in the corner as opposed to kind of trying to go under the post or whatever that might be, like, just get it down in any way, shape, or form can, can, you know, make a difference to how you finish the whole tournament.

But I think that it was a good thing for, for Ireland to actually concede some of those tries because it, it ...

They're gonna have a good bit of footage to look at there in terms of what went wrong because they cannot afford to make the same mistakes versus France.

Like, you know, a- as, as much experience as Italy have, FranceAre way more punishing, um, when there's that disconnect in, in Ireland's defensive line.

And, you know, if they're going to go with this kicking game plan, that has got to be absolutely squeaky clean.

How was that therapy, Bill?

Yeah.

So that's just an, a, a real indicator straight away that this is going to be, you know, a game where you have to give more than you ever knew, because you can't prepare for this in training, and you can prepare for this with smaller crowds.

So that was a huge element.

I think she probably for- r- was referring to that more than, um, England.

Because they're used to playing England.

I know it's now with England as world champs, but I think that, that there's an opportunity there as well, um, that there could be a little bit of a, a hangover.

There's a lot of, you know, shuffle around.

I saw a few people say they were going to width a little earlier maybe.

How did they do for you in general terms, the, the sloppiness of the first half and, and, and the handling errors notwithstanding?

Um, I think there were a number of those, uh, names that were quiet.

Um, I know Brittany Hogan put in a, a massive shift defensively, but when you look at, you know, um, Erin King, you know, her first run out as captain, maybe there was an element of that on her shoulders.

Like, usually she's so much more actively involved in the game and attack.

I was delighted for her to get a try.

Um, and the same with Aoife Wafer.

You know, you ...

I saw a few people say they were going to width a little earlier maybe.