The Occasion Itself Will Be Really Big – Denis Fogarty On Facing England At Allianz Stadium
7 April 2026; Scrum coach Denis Fogarty, centre, speaks to players during an Ireland Women's Rugby squad training session at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin. Photo by Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile
Ireland will face England in Allianz Stadium on Saturday afternoon in front of over 75,000 fans in a match that promises to be an incredible kick off to the Guinness Women’s Six Nations.
Assistant Coach Denis Fogarty says that the squad need to deal with the occasion but also make their mark on the tournament as whole this year.
“The occasion itself will be really big and obviously we’re very much aware of the challenge that England will give us, but I think we’ve prepped really well. The big thing for us going out there is making sure that we can impose our game on the occasion as well, but we expect a massive challenge.”
Ireland haven’t beaten England since the Niamh Briggs captained team won the Championship in 2015 while our last win against France came against France in 2017 but Fogarty says the squad want to make their mark on the tournament.
Inside Camp With Aon – Watch Now
“The last couple of years, I think we’ve only won two games in the Six Nations and it didn’t feel right even speaking about that. We felt like we were better than that. So definitely our home games, and we looked at these occasions.
“I think it’s really important that we make our mark in these games and not let the games go past us, even in the back end of the game. So we’ve spoken about that and – especially against England and France – we want to turn one of these teams over.
“That’s the mindset going into it and obviously the home games will be really, really important for us overall.”
Tickets for Ireland’s first home game of the Championship and a first ever Guinness Women’s SIx Nations match in Galway are on sale now.
