
Ireland assistant coach rubbishes prevailing narrative around Women's Six Nations finale vs Scotland
The Girls in Green are third in the table and only a heavy defeat to the struggling Scots combined with a big Italian win over last-place Wales will see them drop a place.
2
The team's results have improved markedly over the past 12 months
2
22-year-old Aoife Wafer has been one of the best players across the entire tournament
And Fogarty insists the team will not be jaded after
The former Munster hooker said: 'They're not exhausted. They're energised by making sure we finish on a high.
'We know it's always very tricky over in Scotland, we're very much aware of that, but it's also pressure on us to make sure we managed the week really well.'
Loosehead prop Niamh O'Dowd (shoulder) is fit for the Scots showdown but the game comes too soon in her recovery for winger Béibhinn Parsons (broken leg).
Read More On Irish Sport
Fogarty was forced to dye his hair blonde after last year's Six Nations after making a bet with the team that he would do so should they finish third — which they did.
But the scrum coach revealed there will be no bleach this year.
He laughed: 'I am not bleaching my hair again! I have made absolutely no promises whatsoever.
'It took me four months to grow it out. I am glad we came third but the bleaching was enough.'
Most read in Rugby Union
Ronan O'Gara bizarrely ends press conference after 23 SECONDS amid La Rochelle's continued poor form

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Cork hurling fans' spending in Dublin plummeted following All-Ireland defeat
Disappointed Cork hurling fans' spending in Dublin plummeted following their county's All-Ireland final defeat compared to how much they splashed out following their semi-final win. According to its data, AIB's Cork customers spent €920,000 in Dublin on July 5, the day of the All-Ireland semi-final victory over Dublin. However, on July 20, the day Cork lost to Tipperary in the final, it fell by 13%. In contrast, Tipperary fans spent 27% more on the day their team claimed the Liam MacCarthy Cup than they had on the day of their semi-final win over Kilkenny on July 6. During the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final on July 27, Donegal fans spent 12% more in Dublin compared to the Kerry fans, despite their team losing on the day. Overall, AIB's Spend Trend showed customer spending in July was up 9% compared to the same month in 2024. Online spend has been growing more strongly, up 14%, than in-store spend, up 4%, over the 12 months. The average in-store transaction was €28.80 compared to €96.90 for the average online transaction. AIB's head of consumer Adrian Moynihan said the data highlighted the 'resilience of consumer confidence'. 'While the hospitality sector experienced mixed results, with pub spending down but restaurant and hotel spending up, the data underscores the dynamic nature of consumer behaviour during the peak tourist season,' he added. Spending in pubs was down 9% compared to last year, whereas restaurant spend was up 10% and the amount of money spent in Irish hotels was up 3%. Groceries was one of few sectors where in-store spend held up strongly, with spending 6% higher overall, and 93% of those purchases made in stores rather than online. Spending on clothing rose just 1% in July compared to the same month a year ago. Entertainment spending was up 8% in July, while health spending rose by 7%. The data was compiled from 78 million card transactions carried out by AIB customers in store and online during July 2025.


RTÉ News
6 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Carabao Cup: Barry-Murphy's Cardiff into second round
Brian Barry-Murphy's bright start as Cardiff City manager continued after the Bluebirds beat Swindon 2-1 in the Carabao Cup. First-half goals from Cian Ashford and Rubin Colwill were enough for Cardiff to progress despite a second-half strike from Princewill Ehibhatiomhan. And it continued City's unbeaten start to the season after picking up four points in two League One fixtures under the Irish man's watch. "Really pleased, it means a lot to me to get through to the next round and to see who we could possibly take on," he said after the win. "This competition creates so many brilliant occasions but to get to those occasions you have to go through the rounds. "So to win tonight was very important for us and we treated the game really seriously and I thought there was respect in that performance so I'm happy." Republic of Ireland international Jason Knight was on the scoresheet for Bristol City as they overcame MK Dons 2-0, Yu Hirakawa getting the other goal. Ollie Palmer scored a stoppage-time brace before Wrexham completed a remarkable comeback by edging out Hull on penalties. Elliot Lee opened the scoring for Wrexham but they seemed sunk following goals from Oli McBurnie, Joel Ndala and Matt Crooks, only for Palmer to score twice at the end and send the contest to a shoot-out. After a gripping 3-3 draw, Ndala rattling the crossbar with his spot-kick proved crucial as Wrexham prevailed 5-3 in the shoot-out, sealed with Jack Marriott finding the net with his effort. Bromley provided the biggest giant-killing of the night as the Sky Bet League Two side overcame Championship Ipswich 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw over 90 minutes. Deji Elerewe gave Bromley the lead and although Ben Johnson equalised for Ipswich, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, a nervy shoot-out went in favour of the minnows. Sam Long was the hero as he saved two Ipswich penalties – leaving Marcus Ifill to convert the winning spot-kick and give Bromley their first ever win in this competition. Ben Close, Damola Ajayi, Robbie Gotts and Tom Nixon were all on the scoresheet as League One newcomers Doncaster pulled off another upset with a comprehensive 4-0 victory at Middlesbrough. Blackburn and Portsmouth were also knocked out by League One opposition, with both teams beaten at home 2-1 by Bradford and Reading respectively, while Owen Oseni's brace helped Plymouth come from two goals down to oust QPR 3-2. Mateus Fernandes' goal helped Southampton edge out Northampton 1-0, Coventry beat Luton by the same scoreline courtesy of Ellis Simms and Derby defeated West Brom 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Josh Sargent and Marcelino Nunez were on target as Norwich won 2-1 at Watford, Stoke got the better of Walsall 4-3 on penalties after a goalless draw and Millwall claimed a 1-0 victory at Newport. Miles Leaburn, Ibrahim Fullah and Luke Berry scored in Charlton 's comfortable 3-1 victory over Stevenage. Charlie Raglan's own goal gave Preston a 1-0 triumph at Barrow, Tyler Goodrham's strike was the difference in Oxford beating Colchester by the same score and Swansea beat 10-man Crawley 3-1.


Irish Examiner
7 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Shelbourne set for Conference League playoff after late Europa defeat
Shelbourne (Mipo Odubeko 86 (pen) HNK Rijeka (Toni Fruk 33, Tiago Dantas 72, Ante Oreč 90) (Rijeka win 4-3 on aggregate). Four days out from Oasis visiting nearby Croke Park, Shelbourne will look back in anger at blowing a route into the Europa League playoff. Defeat over two legs doesn't end their chances of group stage participation and prize-money swelling to €3.8m but they'll have to beat either Linfield or Vikingur Gøta in the Conference League playoff for their mission to be accomplished. As expected, Rijeka upped the ante from last week's 2-1 home defeat, scoring in each half to turn the tie, but Shels thought they'd have extra-time to deliver the scalp once Mipo Odubeko's penalty was scored with four minutes later. That wasn't the case, for they've only themselves to blame for switching off as stoppage time loomed. It brought a flat end to a boisterous night and an epic tie. Shels can't afford to come out on the wrong side of another classic when they enter the last-chance saloon. Radomir Dalović had no choice but to be adventurous to not only save his club the ignominy of an upset but also his job. All bar two of his Rijeka team hailed from nations that emerged from the former Yugoslavia. The one he was most pleased about including was Toni Fruk. His red card in the Champions League exit to Ludogorets banned him for the first leg but the artillery of the visitors revolved around his repertoire. Shels needed everything to complete the shock, one of the reasons they applied the necessary upgrades within their rickety home venue to avoid moving across Dublin City to Tallaght Stadium. That would have facilitated a capacity of 9,000 but lacking the trademark hostility that guests are subjected to inside the compact Drumcondra home. Despite Uefa restrictions reducing the crowd to the 3,600 available seats, fans turned out early to build the atmosphere. A banner unfurled from the Riverside stand read 'Spirit of '04', in homage to the famous Champions League victory over HNK Hajduk Split. Bertie Ahern was Taoiseach then, and he was back at Tolka Park, forming an eclectic array of guests in the directors' box. Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson was an interested observer and another figure of international renown, David Healy, was present, scouting for a potential rematch against his Linfield side. Stephen Cluxton was a guest of his former All-Ireland winning colleague Mossy Quinn, now chief executive of Shelbourne, while the infamous referee for the Thierry Henry handball incident in 2009, Martin Hansson, acted as Uefa's referee observer. It would be interesting to discover if he agreed with the decision of official Marian Barbu not to award Shels a penalty inside three minutes. Ali Coote should have lifted the ball over the advancing Martin Zlomislić before being shoved but the contact just inside the box was excessive. There would be redemption by the home crowd for the whistler later. Against such talented opponents, those moments are critical. Shels did conjure a couple more openings in the first half, primarily by counterattacking a Rijeka side fluid in possession. Brave blocks by Paddy Barrett and Kameron Ledwidge – coupled with the wall repelling Fruk's free-kick – kept them at bay as goalkeeper Wessel Speel was hardly called upon. Ante Majstorović volleying wide off a corner signalled danger but there was nothing the stopper could do for a rasping opener by Fruk on 33 minutes. He didn't require any back-lift to crack a volley off his left foot from 20 yards out that dipped beyond the Dutchman. Although that concession brought the tie level on aggregate and removed a degree of fervour, Shels should have equalised on the night straight away. Kerr McInroy popped in the box from a James Norris knockdown but couldn't steer his close-range volley past Martin Zlomislić. Coote was first to react without replicating his strike against Linfield, fizzing his rebound wide. Martin's introduction offered an injection upfront for the Reds and just seven minutes in, he dashed clear from McInroy's pass. His unselfish cutback met the toe of Odubeko without the striker applying the necessary accuracy to keep it on target. Apart from in-demand Niko Janković firing a deflected shot into the arms of Speel, Shels were untroubled until another screamer of a goal swayed the tie away from their grasp. Joey O'Brien is entitled to be livid at the absence of pressure on Tiago Dantas when receiving the ball unattended but must credit the Portuguese, one of the two non-Baltics in the line-up, for floating a peach of a shot into the top corner from 30 yards. Behind but unbowed, Shels persisted into the dying stages. Five days after Rijeka were unable to cope with Martin in the box, it was a similar story but this time Ante Oreč opted to foul him as he stretched for an 82nd-minute header. Four minutes elapsed for a VAR check to award the spot-kick, enabling Odubeko to squeeze his shot under the arm of the Bosnian goalkeeper into the right corner. Oreč went from zero to hero within three minutes, swivelling inside the box to fire his low effort into the far corner. More of a wonderball than wonderwall for the Croatians. They march on to meet the winner of PAOK and Wolfsberger for a Europa League berth. SHELBOURNE: W Speel; P Barrett, S Bone, K Ledwidge; M Mbeng, K McInroy (D Kelly 90), JJ Lunney (E Caffrey 78), J Norris (E Chapman 78); H Wood, A Coote (J Martin 46); M Odubeko. HNK RIJEKA: M Zlomislić; A Majstorović, S Radeljić, M Devetak; M Ndockyt, T Dantas, D Petrovič, N Janković; A Oreč, T Fruk; AM Jurić (J Lasickas 75). Referee: Marian Barbu (ROU).