Sister's surprise adds to 'special' feeling for Ireland captain Nichola Fryday after seeing off Italy challenge

Victory over Italy will be the start of progression for Ireland, captain Nichola Fryday has vowed.

After "a tough two weeks" with defeats to Wales and France, Greg McWilliams' team picked up their first win of the Tik Tok Women's Six Nations campaign, notching five tries to beat the Italians 29-8 at Musgrave Park.

The bonus-point pushes Ireland up to fourth in the table ahead of a daunting trip to face England in a fortnight.

Head coach McWilliams outlined that there was "more to come" from the Irish side and Fryday echoed that view.

"I think this is what we needed, just to get a win on the board and get a little bit of confidence into the girls that we are on the right track," she said.

"We've had a tough two weeks but this is the start for us and this is how we're going to progress on now. I'm really proud of the performance we put in."

The second row added of a match viewed as "nearly a tournament decider" for Ireland: "It was difficult conditions, the big wind in the first half. We showed that we are smart rugby players and we can play to our strengths. We build on that now and we don't take any steps back. That's the focus for the next few weeks."

For 26-year-old Fryday, the "really special" emotion of captaining her country to victory was only heightened by the presence of her sister among the Musgrave Park crowd.

"My little sister has been living in Canada for the last year, so she flew home to surprise me for that match. That was a really special moment and it was very unexpected," she said, before touching on how the crowd in Cork helped the Irish side.

"It's amazing to look up into the crowd and see hundreds of little boys and girls who have come to support us. It's just lifting when you're on the pitch and you hear the