NORA STAPLETON makes no apologies for being ambitious – and is targeting big silverware with the Irish Women’s Rugby team this year.
The 33-year-old Fahan woman will line out for the Irish on Friday evening in their opening Women’s Six Nations game at Cumbernauld against Scotland.
Despite losing the three November Tests against England, Canada and New Zealand, Stapleton is thinking big.
“Success in our eyes is winning the Six Nations and the World Cup,” she said.
“We won’t look beyond the Six Nations.
[adrotate group=”46″]“But we’re hosting the World Cup, 12 of the best teams will be in Dublin and Belfast and we want to be there for the final stages, playing for medals.”
The Women’s Rugby World Cup is being held in Ireland in August – and Stapleton says the Irish side has gone to new levels in recent years.
The experienced out-half said: “We’re taking it one step at a time and one game at a time. We put pressure on ourselves because we want to do well and we want to compete in every game.
“We now have girls who have been playing rugby since they were kids, but we still have players who have crossed over from other sports. We’re doing a lot more training now and there are full-time staff looking after our team so that’s been a big change.
“You have to be professional. The teams we play against are top quality. We have to do everything we can – and more. You really have to step outside the comfort zone and sacrifice so many things. You wouldn’t do it unless you loved what you were doing.”
Listen to the full interview below …
https://soundcloud.com/donegalsportstalk/nora-stapleton-ahead-of-womens-six-nations
