King: Playing In Front Of Our Home Support Is Really Special To Us

Women’s Six Nations rugby is coming to Galway for the first time, drawing what is set to be a record crowd for a standalone Ireland Women’s international on the island. Over 8,500 tickets were sold as of this morning, with a brilliant atmosphere promised at Dexcom Stadium.

Featuring at openside flanker in an unchanged back row, King cannot wait to lead her team-mates out in front of a packed-out Clan Stand. It is the first of three home matches in the Six Nations that will also take Scott Bemand’s side to Belfast and Dublin next month.

They will be hoping to give debutant Robyn O’Connor a winning start in the green jersey, and also mark former co-captain Sam Monaghan’s return from injury in suitable fashion. Last year in Parma, early tries from Aoife Dalton and Anna McGann led to a runaway 54-12 victory.

Speaking about tomorrow evening’s rematch with Italy, which kicks off at 5.40pm, King recalled: “Obviously last year we went over to Italy and we had a fantastic game, we got to 50 points. So just building on that really, and showing how good this team is.

“We have a new cap in Robyn who is starting on the wing, which is really exciting. Getting some girls some experience. Sam is back too, she’s on the bench.

“Yeah, just trying different combinations and things like that. But I think we’d be lying to ourselves if we said we didn’t want to go out there and have a dominant performance.”

The 22-year-old admitted there were a few frustrations with last week’s 33-12 defeat to England, despite an improved second half display. They were unable to exert much pressure on the World champions during the opening 40 minutes, with just 28% possession and three attacking 22-metre entries.

While final quarter tries from McGann and King herself saw Ireland match their hosts’ 12-point haul after the break, she says they want to take the game to Italy from early on. That means increasing their physicality around the breakdown, winning more collisions, and maintaining momentum with the ball to play on top of their opponents.

A number of the Ireland squad played in the recent Celtic Challenge semi-finals at Dexcom Stadium. The Captain’s run gave a glimpse of how quickly the weather conditions can change out west, but come rain or shine, the girls is green are determined to put on a show at the home of Connacht Rugby.

“I think it means a lot, especially to the Connacht girls. We’re really passionate about being from Ireland, and we’re really proud of it, so getting to play at home, in front of our Green Wave, is really special to us,” said the new Ireland captain.

“Hopefully we can put in a performance we’re proud of. But yeah, we’ve definitely spoken a lot this week about getting to play in front of our home crowd. Playing on the island of Ireland, it’s just something different, that little bit more special.

“We’re all delighted to get to play here. A few of us got to play here during our Celtic Challenge competition, so we’ve had a little bit of a taster.

“The pitch is lovely, and they’ve done a great job of it (the stadium’s redevelopment). I think with the crowd full, it’s going to feel a little bit different tomorrow, but it’s really exciting. I think it’s going to be a great occasion.”

Meanwhile, new cap O’Connor is young enough that she could play in the inaugural Under-21 Women’s Six Nations Series encounter between the Ireland and Italy U-21s, which forms the first part of tomorrow’s double header.

The Wexford-born winger lined out in the last two U-20 Six Nations Summer Series tournaments, scoring three tries at the 2025 event in Caerphilly where the Ireland U-20s beat hosts Wales and Scotland. She also made the Team of the Series, alongside captain Jane Neill.

Several players who impressed at U-18 and U-20 level in recent seasons will feature for Niamh Briggs’ U-21 outfit in the Galway curtain raiser. Among them are Niamh Gallagher, Aoibheann McGrath, Ailish Quinn, and Jemima Adams Verling who, like O’Connor, have all been training with Bemand’s charges of late, at the IRFU High Performance Centre.

New Ireland U-21 captain Lucia Linn wants to ‘set the tone for the day’ with a successful start in the age-grade opener, before handing over to the senior side, and what will be poignant moment for the 20-year-old O’Connor whose grandfather Patrick sadly passed away in recent days.

In an interview with Irish Rugby TV about her selection to start against Italy, the Wexford Wanderers product said: “It is really exciting. I’m buzzing, to say the least. You know, it is something that I’ve worked towards for a very long time and it’s just a dream I’ve had for a very long time.

“I’m just really grateful for the opportunity. The first thing I did when I found out was I rang my parents and they were super proud of me, and my brother’s really proud of me also.

“My grandfather actually passed away last week, so I think I’d like to just know that he’d be really proud of me as well. So it means a lot, it’s really, really special.”

The talented back-three player, Leinster’s Young Player of the Year for 2024/25, is already an Ireland Sevens international having gained experience on the HSBC SVNS circuit last season. Tomorrow she will take her first steps into the Test arena, roared on by those closest to her and with plenty of support too from her beloved Wexford Wanderers.

“Playing at home makes it even more special because you have your friends and family that can come and support you.

“I know a few of the girls from Wexford Wanderers are coming up for the game as well. So just to have all that support there is just really, really special to me as well,” she added.