Wins over Wales, England and Scotland has secured an historic Triple Crown for the Irish Women, but victories in their two remaining games against France and Italy would achieve the unthinkable - a Grand Slam.
But Baxter, who will line out on the wing versus France this evening, is playing down their chances. “The aim this season was to qualify for the World Cup, everything beyond that is a bonus. Nobody is really thinking about the Grand Slam yet. We realise we have put ourselves in a position that it is possible but we are just looking towards France on Friday and hopefully we will get the win we very much hope for.”
They lost narrowly to France (8-7) in last season’s competition and Baxter is expecting a similarly difficult encounter. The Belfast Harlequins player said: “We had a short training session focusing on the way the French play, but everything is very relaxed and we will just slowly build up to the game now.The French have a lot ofhard runners in the backs and a very strong pack, so it’s going to be a very physical game. They will take advantage of any mistakes we make so we will have to be clinical if we want to come out of it with a positive result.”
Last season the Irish Women enjoyed a relatively successful campaign, registering three wins from their five fixtures. But extra commitment to training and more belief within the squad has resulted in vast improvements this season.
Baxter, who is currently studying Aerospace Engineering at Queen’s University, said, “It has all come from great coaching and commitment from players. Everybody within the squad has given 100% all year, committing to a tough strength and conditioning schedule, working on skills and striving to improve. We train every weekend in Dublin, have two sessions with a conditioner during the week in our provinces and have two other running sessions to do in our own time during the week. We are lucky to have such a strong management and coaching side.”
Speaking ahead of the game, Head Coach Philip Doyle said, “It is great to have our goals already ready reached for this season with Rugby World Cup qualifications and the Triple Crown secured. That being said, this squad has further goals and a win over France will certainly get us a step closer to those.
“Having seen France’s very strong performance a fortnight ago we know that this fixture will be a very tight one but will certainly be very entertaining for the crowd. We are looking forward to playing in front of the home crowd in Ashbourne they always give us great support and can really make a difference for the team on the pitch.”
Ireland Women’s Team & Replacements v France, Ashbourne, Friday 8th March, kick-off 7.30pm):
15. Niamh Briggs (UL Bohemians/Munster)
14. Ashleigh Baxter (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
13. Lynne Cantwell (Richmond/Exiles)
12. Jenny Murphy (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
11. Alison Miller (Portlaoise/Connacht)
10. Nora Stapleton (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
9. Larissa Muldoon (UWIC/Exiles)
1. Fiona Coghlan (UL Bohemians/Leinster) (capt)
2. Gillian Bourke (UL Bohemians/Munster)
3. Ailis Egan (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
4. Sophie Spence (Mowden Park Sharks/Exiles)
5. Marie Louise Reilly (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
6. Siobhan Fleming (Tralee/Munster)
7. Claire Molloy (Bristol/Exiles)
8. Joy Neville (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Replacements:
16. Stacey-Lea Kennedy (City of Derry/Ulster)
17. Fiona Hayes (UL Bohemians/Munster)
18. Lauren Day (Waterloo/Exiles)
19. Leigh Dargan (Saracens RFC/Exiles)
20. Laura Guest (Highfield/Munster)
21. Amy Davis (Blackrock College/Ulster)
22. Grace Davitt (Cooke/Ulster)
23. Niamh Kavanagh (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Ireland Women 6 Nations Fixtures and results 2013 (All kick-off times GMT):
Sun 3rd Feb Wales v Ireland 10-12
Sat 9th Feb Ireland v England U20 25-0
Sat 23rd Feb 14:00 Scotland v Ireland Lasswade 3-30
Fri 8th Mar 19:30 Ireland v France Ashbourne RFC
Sun 17th Mar 14:30 Italy Women v Ireland Women Parabiago, Milan