Griffin captains Ireland against the old enemy

CIARA Griffin captained Ireland in their first 6 Nations encounter against England at Donnybrook last Friday, but unfortunately the visitors were much too strong for the home side, winning 51-7.

The game was similar to Ireland male counterparts defeat to the same opposition on Saturday in the sense that the physically imposing English side bossed the exchanges in the forwards.

Ireland did well in the first half and took the game to their opponents, but they trailed by 13-0 at half time despite the promise shown in the opening period of the game. The third quarter of the game brought nothing but heartbreak for the Irish as they let in three tries in the space of 12 minutes as the full time professional English outfit began to flex their muscle.

Griffin roused her troops and Ireland imposed some pressure of their own, with a penalty try awarded after a series of penalties off some strong Irish scrummaging.

England took control once more though and added three further tries before the finish to inflict a chastening defeat on the Irish. Ireland will have to regroup quickly as they travel to Scotstoun next Friday evening to face Scotland.