Latest news with #WexfordWanderers
Irish Independent
01-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Wexford's Robyn O'Connor's named on Team of the 2025 Six Nations Women's Summer Series
The talented Wexford Wanderers club member is one of just two Ireland players to gain selection, along with team captain Jane Neill from Arklow. Coached by Niamh Briggs, the Ireland squad won two of their three Summer Series matches – a first for Irish rugby's leading age-grade talent – and posted a new record victory when running out 62-7 winners over Scotland in Caerphilly. O'Connor, whose quick feet and eye for a break have seen her shine in the back three, started this past season with an eye-catching senior debut for Leinster as she helped them to become back-to-back interprovincial champions. One of 37 centralised players contracted to the IRFU Women's High Performance programme, the Wexford native has gained valuable experience with the Ireland Women's Sevens team, scoring four tries during her maiden HSBC SVNS Series campaign. Like Neill, the recent Summer Series was O'Connor's second tournament with the Ireland Under-20s after playing in Parma last summer. She finished as the joint-third top try scorer in Wales with three tries, including one during the opening 27-10 triumph over the host nation. Just a couple of days after her 20th birthday, she bagged a second-half brace against the Scots in a lively cameo performance. Notably, she topped the 2025 Series' stats for running metres (317.4) and line breaks (6), and made double figures for tackle breaks (10). Reflecting on the runaway win over Scotland, O'Connor said: 'I was very happy with how I performed, but huge credit to the rest of the girls who were able to create space for me and get the ball to me. 'I'm very proud of this team. We only came together at the beginning of this year, and we've become so close over the past two weeks at the tournament. We've really grown together as a team and that showed during the performance. ADVERTISEMENT 'We're very excited and proud of how we performed. In comparison to the loss to France, we really came on and we tidied up the little bits that we needed to get better. We're all feeling great about that.' The full team is: 15. Poppy Mellanby (Scotland); 14. Anaick Konyi (France); 13. Savannah Picton-Powell (Wales); 12. Lucy MacRae (Scotland); 11. Robyn O'Connor (Ireland); 10. Ceitidh Ainsworth (Scotland); 9. Pauline Barrat (France); 1. Mailys Borak (France); 2. Chiara Cheli (Italy); 3. Alice Antonazzo (Italy); 4. Jane Neill (Ireland); 5. Robyn Davies (Wales); 6. Lou Roboam (France); 7. Sophie McQueen (England); 8. Elena Errichiello (Italy).
Irish Independent
29-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
‘Emotional' Tadhg Furlong pauses with Wexford fans following emotional Lions victory in Melbourne
Starting in the front row, he put in a serious shift in a bruising encounter which was eventually won by the tourists following a last gasp Hugo Keenan try, securing the test and the series for the Lions. It was a win that clearly meant a lot to the Wexford man, who was left reflecting on how far he'd come, going from the muddy pitches at New Ross RFC to starting the last eight straight tests for the Lions. With this reflection in mind as the curtain comes down on his Lions career, it was fitting that as he made his way around the pitch, applauding the travelling fans, his eye was drawn to something familiar. The purple and gold of Wexford. It was a flag being carried by a gang who had set off on the trip of a lifetime to follow the Lions and Tadgh was delighted to stop and chat and pose for a memorable selfie with former Wexford Wanderers captain James Dunne, Phil Jeffares, Tom Codd, Ian Mernagh, Paul Cummings and Scott Mernagh. In his post match interview, Furlong conceded that the win was 'a little bit emotional'. "The Lions has played a massive part in my career,' he said. 'Not so much me as a person, but definitely as a rugby player, it's shaped the way I play the game and think about the game. 'It's a bit of a mad one. I know this Lions tour is going to be me kind of closing the book on the Lions. I don't want it to end. It's a great group, it's a special thing to be a Lion. We've a week left to enjoy it but I kind of don't want it to end, as much as I want to go home and see my family.' Noting the support that the Lions have received, and quite possibly with his chats with the Wexford gang still ringing in his ears, he added: 'It's crazy the amount of people that travel and support us. It's great.'
