‘She’s Working Really Hard And Is Very Close’ – Alex Codling On Aoife Wafer

Alex Codling was on media duty today as Ireland prepare for their match against Spain on Sunday and of course everyone wanted to know about Aoife Wafer’s return.

“I’m not working directly with her, but in terms of running, she joined in with the lineouts, that gives an indication that she’s on track and going really well. She’s working really hard, she’s coming back and is very close. As a coaching group, it’s important we make sure that moment is right for her and right for the team, so we’ll monitor that over the next couple of days.”

Co-Captain Edel McMahon who made her her return in the opening game against Japan was subject to some training load management this week, “It’s important for us as a coaching group where we just manage the loads of players. She’s been out for a while, she was exceptional at the weekend, so we’re just making sure she’s fit and ready.

“Everyone’s come through, there are a couple of bumps and bruises that you would expect in a high tempo game, but as of today we’re in good shape.”

Speaking about the opening match Codling added, “We focused on a fast start which we did, and that was positive, but I think everyone could see the second half we didn’t get out of the blocks. The one thing about this game is that once you lose momentum it’s hard to get it back. I thought the last 20 minutes, once we got it back, I thought the girls closed out the game really well.

“That’s one element, making sure that when we come under pressure, which you will in games, how you react as a group is so important.”