'The girls left everything on the pitch' - Fryday

Ireland captain Nichola Fryday said she could ask nothing more from her team-mates in spite of their 27-19 TikTok Women's Six Nations opener defeat to Wales.

Ireland's were beaten in their first game under new head coach Greg McWilliams, with Wales scoring two tries in the final ten minutes to come from behind and win.

Ioan Cunningham's side were deserving victors, despite only taking the lead for the first time on 74 minutes, with their set-piece dominant over the course of the game, allowing them control possession and territory.

While Ireland led for much of the game, they found themselves defending for the vast majority of the second half, with a powerful Welsh side eventually making their dominance count.

"Wales did exactly whet we said they would do," said Ireland captain Fryday after the game.

"Their power game is something they are known for, and maybe that bit of experience they had, but we still had positive patches in that game and I'm extremely proud of the girls for sticking with it and not giving up.

"We have France next so we have no choice to but to put our heads down, make fixes and focus on next week.

"I'm hugely proud of the girls, the performance we put out, there were glimpses of really positive stuff for us. We'll take our learnings from the things that didn't go well, but the girls left everything on the pitch.

"I said at the start of the game we had to empty the tank and come in knowing we did everything we could. That's what the girls did. I'm proud of them for that.

"We'll take our learnings and move on."

While Ireland found themselves defending for large periods, their attack was quite clinical with the limited possession they had, with tries for Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Linda Djougang and Stacey Flood