Harlequins sign Ireland forward Wafer from Leinster
Conversations with the Harlequins head coach Ross Chisolm have centred around her playing six and eight."You look at the modern-day rugby player and people can play across a number of positions," said Chisolm. "Aoife is a high-quality player; she could probably play predominantly more six and eight but it could give us a nice balance to go 'I think today we need this and tomorrow we need that' it's going to be competitive."She is in my opinion right up there on the world stage of quality of player, the exciting thing is I still think there is room for growth. "Aoife is 22 years-old, it's crazy to think that she's able to output that ability at that age."
Ireland's back row crisis
Wafer announced her new club in a protective brace as a precaution following a minor leg injury at the end of the Six Nations.Her fitness has become increasingly significant for Ireland following injuries to back rowers Dorothy Wall and Erin King, who will both miss the World Cup. Wafer joked "it feels like the back row jerseys is cursed"."We'll really miss the girls," she said. "The physicality and the energy they bring on the field is something you just you can't get, they're key players for us. But I think it gives an opportunity to other people to really stand up and try kind of fight for a spot."We've plenty of other players who haven't quite got the chance to get to step up into that back row, so I think it'd be interesting come to the World Cup. But yeah, we'll definitely miss the girls."Ireland face Japan in their World Cup Pool C opener on 24 August before games against Spain on 31 August and holders New Zealand on 7 September.
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