Postcard from Perth: Go west where the skies are blue

After a hop to Sydney, and a skip back to Brisbane, the Republic of Ireland made the long jump to Perth on Monday.

Heads were spinning for a few days after Thursday's emotional opener against the Aussies at the Accor Stadium. It was a great occasion in a magnificent arena, the players visibly awed by their surroundings and the noise of the travelling support.

Roughly 15 hours after the final whistle had blown, the Girls in Green were back on a plane to their base in Brisbane, where they stayed for just 48 hours before taking the four-and-a-half, 3600km flight west to Perth.

The dreaded protective boot reappeared on Saturday as Louise Quinn nursed an ankle knock. After the saga of Denise O'Sullivan's Colombian shin scare, the FAI were quick to nip any speculation in the bud by releasing an injury update - and accompanying photo - that assured us Quinn was "due to train with the squad on Monday and is expected to be available for the game against Canada on Wednesday".

After O'Sullivan sat down with the media to reflect on her crazy week - "it was mental, the thing blew up" - nobody fancied another few days of fitness-watch around a key player.

Quinn is as tough as they come though and would play on one leg against Canada if she could. The centre-half did indeed train at Dorrien Gardens in Perth on Monday evening [5pm local time], the Irish team having arrived 24 hours previously to another jubilant welcome when around 300 fans turned up at the airport clad in shamrock green.

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