Ireland should only be judged on the merits of their play

THE visit of Finland to Tallaght is an important event in Irish sport.

This is the time when the Irish women’s team can be treated as what they are: an ambitious

group with grand designs on a World Cup place, facing a decisive test on the winding route to that goal.

This is not about being role models, or leaving a legacy, or making an impression to inspire future generations.

This is about an Irish team being asked to match on the field of play the goals they describe off it.

And that, surely, is the destination point that all champions of women’s sport should target.

This is about reaching a status where the role model argument, whatever its relevance, is rendered secondary to the urgent sporting priorities driving this group and their coach on.

It’s about treating a squad as we would a men’s one, whereby they are measured on what they do on the field, and not against some notional after-effect.

Stephen Kenny isn’t asked about being a role model, and nor is

Shane Duffy or Gavin Bazunu or any of the rest of them.

Of course the women’s team are a new phenomenon in terms of public attention, and that brings different requirements.

But these players are competitors. They want to be judged on how they play. They deserve that respect.