Indo Sport
Six Nations preview | Aofie Wafer in studio | Facing down England & World Cup injuries
08 Apr 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is an Irish Independent Podcast. You are very welcome. Women's Six Nations starts this Saturday, 11th April, 25 past two, England against Ireland at the Allianz Twickenham Stadium, where it seems 70,000 tickets sold. Absolutely extraordinary what they've managed to do in English rugby and they've harnessed so much support. So it's a hell of a start for Ireland.
And then on they'll go right the way through until May 17th, when on Sunday, May 17th, They will play Scotland at home at the Aviva Stadium. And they'll also play in Galway and in Belfast.
Chapter 2: What are the highlights of the upcoming Women's Six Nations?
So it's just a really well set up women's Six Nations for the Irish team. Last time we saw them, of course, was World Cup quarterfinal, lost to France. And that was after a third place finish in the Six Nations last year. So the sense is the team going in the right direction, which makes this a really interesting Six Nations. We will talk to Sinead Cassan in just a moment.
She's out covering the team. She'll be at the games, get her sense of where things are. And then we are very happy to say, and we really do thank her for it because we're, what, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, three days out from her playing at Twickenham. Aoife Wafer has made some time to drop into studio from camp and chat about
Last year, the injuries, the bite in the French game, her move to Harlequins. She's moved to Harlequins this season, played 10 games, scored seven tries, doing really well as a course she was going to. And then how she's feeling about life and the Six Nations generally. Aoife Wafer needs no introduction whatsoever. 23 years of age, a meteoric rise, a serious player.
Last year, she was the Six Nations player of the championship. And that's with England obviously dominating. But Aoife Wafer stood out as she tends to do. So great to chat to her in a few moments time. I should say Energia. Our brilliant sponsors of the Rugby Podcast here generally are proud to support Irish rugby right across the women's game.
And like I said, the Women's Six Nations gets underway this week with Ireland against England. The home games are in Galway and Belfast and the Aviva Stadium. So plenty of opportunity for Irish supporters to get out and support the team. Energia are proud supporters of the Ireland women's team and they'll have competitions and giveaways on their social channels over the course of the championship.
So check out the show notes for links. That's Energia. Think of the possibilities. So Aoife Wafer on the way. And first up, a quick check in. She's been out at press conferences and covering the team this week with our own Sinead Cassan. Sinead, welcome.
Hello. How are you?
Very well. So we are underway. England, Ireland kick things off this weekend. Allianz Stadium, 67,000 tickets sold. Extraordinary. And then match day two, Italy at home. That's at the Dexcom. And then they go like the men have been doing three weeks in a row. France away and then a gap week and then Ireland, Wales up in Belfast. And then they'll finish England.
against Scotland May 17th at the Aviva Stadium. And we're slightly later this year as well, aren't we, than recent years? I guess they're trying to kind of find the best possible place in the calendar for the Women's Six Nations.
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Chapter 3: How has Aoife Wafer's injury history impacted her career?
So, you know, it's definitely good to have a bit of a break.
Well, there's a lot of small violins out there for us, Sinead. So just, you know, don't mind us, everyone. We're just, we're talking shop. We're talking shop. So I guess it would be good because Aoife Wafer is going to join us and we'll chat to her about an amazing kind of 12 months, really, just for her body, her soul, her spirit and everything.
But it would be good just to remind everybody where the team broadly is. Third in the Six Nations last year. And then you'd say a very... I mean, maybe the players wouldn't, but an acceptable World Cup in that they pushed France close and the signs of improvement under Scott Beaman very much continued last year.
Look, there's no doubt that their trajectory remains upwards, but I do think the end of that Six Nations, you know, is something that would really get under their skin because they wanted those three away wins in last year's Six Nations and they just fell on the final day to a Scotland side who were so revved up. So,
Yes, the Championship went well for Ireland last year, but I just think we may have glossed over that final day defeat because even though they got those back-to-back third places in the last two Six Nations, which, let's be honest, from where this Irish team came from and when Scott Beaman came in, you know, was still huge progress.
But like losing to Scotland on the final day, I tell you, even for this year's championship, that's going to set it up really nicely because there's a nice little rivalry growing there. But then obviously then in the World Cup last year, when you think about who they were without,
obviously Aoife Wafer came back for the quarterfinal I mean Dorothy Wall and Aaron King like it was the nightmare scenario and they you know played it down and they carried on and with their preparation for the World Cup but we can look back on it after and go it was such a nightmare scenario for them to be without the players that they were.
And Aoife Wafer, like she played practically in one leg in that quarterfinal and it was one of the most heroic performances I have ever seen by anyone. So definitely, but you will, they will be going for those three home wins this year, but you kind of want to see them kind of really rattle.
France obviously would be the big away game, but making it uncomfortable at the very least for England as well this weekend.
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Chapter 4: What are the major storylines for Ireland in the Six Nations?
Trailfinders women and then the remainder are applying their trade here and that's kind of that's always been a bit of an issue Sinead in terms of getting high quality game time the Celtic challenge is doing its best to help them on that front
Yeah, I mean, for sure. But look, there's no doubt that the players in the... the number of players over in the PWR now, we were speaking about that with the players today at their media day, that they will bring back kind of something different to this Irish squad. You know, if you know, they're more familiar with playing with them.
I was talking to Aoife Wafer just recently, like she trains with the likes of Ellie Culldon every day. She watches how she does things. So all of that, you'd imagine, as much as we want the Irish League itself, you know, to grow, but you'd imagine that that will only be a benefit for the players. And you mentioned Elle Perry there.
Of course, it's likely to be her first time playing against the country of her birth. She will bring some kind of inside information as well to the Irish squad this weekend because the scrum was a big factor in that game in Cork last weekend, as it always is against English side. So they will need that to be locked in this weekend.
But there's always that element of just how match-ready the Irish-based players will be for that Celtic challenge. I watched that final on the streaming service there a few weekends ago. Look, it's really hard to tell. Obviously, it was just Irish players, two Irish teams playing against each other.
But that's why I think the training sessions, I was on my way into the indoor pitch there earlier and I bumped into one of the players and, you know, they, she said, yeah, as I said earlier, that the training session they had was really intense because they need to be match ready for this one. I mean, you know, they've got to hit the ground running.
So that certainly would have been something in the past. How good is the Celtic challenge really to get Irish and home-based players ready? My God, it doesn't get any bigger than facing the World Cup champions.
No. We have a new captain we should mention in the guise of Aaron King. 22 years of age, missed the World Cup, was a huge loss. So it had been Sam Monaghan and Adele McMahon as joint captains. Adele is out for the rest of the season through injury. Any particular reason why they've gone for Aaron King?
I think she just represented, as Scott Beeman said when she was announced, you know, everything good about what a pro player, an elite player should be for Irish women's rugby. And there's no doubt that Erin just brings something.
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Chapter 5: How does Aoife Wafer feel about her move to Harlequins?
Great news. I won't be at training on Monday.
Yeah, literally. I think it was actually gas because when I arrived at Quinns, it was the first time I met a lot of the medical staff, obviously. And one of the physios came up to me and was like, yeah, I was actually in the crowd when you got hurt. And they were like... crap, like this is going to be interesting. And seemingly one of the match day doctors was one of the Queen's doctors as well.
So he was like, I really hope we don't have to stretch her off because that would be a really interesting first time of us meeting before we go into a big season.
I thought we were going to spend a lot of time together.
Yeah, literally. Yeah, literally. But yeah, no, thankfully met them at Queen's and yeah, they rehabbed me back as well as the kind of work that I'd done here with Edmias. So yeah, back fully fit now.
And do they feel that the MCL going in the French game was as a result of rushing back to get ready for French game or is it very hard to know?
No, I wouldn't say so. I think the job that like between myself and Edmias and Emma Galvin, like the MCL was really strong. Obviously, like we got a lot of kind of approvals, whether it was like surgeons or that kind of thing.
And a lot of work being put in to kind of make sure that everything is firing around it, whether it's quads or hammies, calves, whatever it is, and to make sure that it's fully protected as well. And so, yeah, a lot, a lot of hours of work, a lot of hours on my own working or just recovering.
And yeah, I was I was very strict on what I did in that period, whether it was like, I don't know, a family member playing in a match where I'd usually go down and support. I was like, no, I can't dive to sit here on the game ready and just relax for a bit. But yeah, I think it was a it was an interesting World Cup campaign for myself. But yeah, just just how it goes, I guess.
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