King: There’s So Much Talent In This Wolfhounds Squad, So Much Potential
Erin King has been ever-present in the back row for the table-topping Wolfhounds during this season's Celtic Challenge ©INPHO/Ben Brady
Included in the extended Ireland Women’s squad which was announced today, exciting back rower Erin King will head into camp on the back of a player-of-the-match performance in the Celtic Challenge.
This season’s expanded format of the Celtic Challenge, running up to round 10 in early March, has been important for players like King in acting as a building block towards the fast-approaching Guinness Women’s Six Nations.
The Ireland Sevens star had only played three senior 15s games for Old Belvedere before making an eye-catching debut against Australia in Irish Rugby’s 150th Anniversary Test match at Kingspan Stadium in September.
Such was her impact during the WXV1 campaign in Canada, where Ireland claimed ths scalp of World champions New Zealand, she was chosen as the World Rugby Women’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year, just four months after becoming an Olympian.
The 21-year-old’s next big targets are the Six Nations and the Rugby World Cup, which is being held in England in August and September. “I’ll do everything in my power this year to make sure I’m on that plane to the World Cup,” she said recently.
With that in mind, after playing in the first two legs of this season’s HSBC SVNS Series, her development in the 15s game has continued apace with seven successive starts for the Wolfhounds in the Celtic Challenge.
Half of those have been at number 8, and she has also switched to openside flanker to accommodate either Aoife Wafer or Brittany Hogan at the base of the scrum, as the Wolfhounds have embarked on a five-match winning run.
Whilst admitting she still has plenty to learn and get better at as a 15s player, King was a key factor in the Wolfhounds edging out Gwalia Lighting 21-15 in last Sunday’s top of the table clash in Cork.
Speaking afterwards at Virgin Media Park, she said: “Credit to Gwalia, they were unreal. They really put it up to us, especially in that first half and then down to the wire there (at the end when we held them up over the try-line).
“But it kind of just shows the resilience and the heart that we have in our team. We just kept fighting until the very end.
“There’s definitely things that we’re going to take learnings from that game, and definitely come back training this week and work on them.”
Aside from her three tries to date in the cross-border competition, King has played the most match minutes (511) in the Wolfhounds pack, and is their leading ball carrier, accumulating 581 metres from 87 carries, and their top lineout jumper with 37 takes and five steals.
She led the way on Sunday afternoon with 19 tackles and none missed, and added two breakdown steals to take her tournament total to 10. She was delighted to come through a ‘tough battle’ collectively, as Neill Alcorn’s side moved four points clear at the summit.
Fair play to Gwalia, they made it tough. It was a challenging game, but I kind of knew we’d have it in the end. Credit to the girls, they just kept fighting. We definitely have a lot of fight in our squad.
“As we train together and as we get to know each other better, we’re forming connections. Yeah, we’re just growing and building and building.
“There’s so much talent in the squad, and so much potential. It’s so nice to see the girls thriving out there. It’s really positive.”
With a number of players hitting form at just the right time, 17 members of the Wolfhounds squad have been selected in Scott Bemand’s latest Ireland training group that will assemble at the IRFU High Performance Centre next Monday.
Among those being rewarded for their impressive Celtic Challenge displays are Balbriggan RFC product Alma Atagamen, an Ireland Under-18 lock the last two seasons, fellow uncapped player Amy Larn from Athy, and dual international Claire Boles, the Wolfhounds captain.
The Wolfhounds’ bid for back-to-back Celtic Challenge titles continues away to Edinburgh on Saturday week (February 22), exactly a month before a potential Six Nations debut for King when Ireland kick off the Championship against France in Belfast.
The Wicklow woman has four 15s international caps to her name, and three tries already. The Wolfhounds’ style of play has seen her shine in the loose where she has an athletic presence with ball in hand, and is a consistent threat at the breakdown.
Asked what was the most pleasing aspect of her own performance against Gwalia Lightning, she replied: “Personally, probably my turnovers. I’ve been working on them quite a bit.
“Coming from Sevens, the jackaling is a lot easier in that form of the game. I was happy to get a few jackals out there, but definitely a lot of work-ons as well.”