Along with the rest of the nation I’m enjoying the Irish women’s rugby team’s astonishing revival.
The shock win over New Zealand comes only months after an 88-10 hammering by England. The loss to Canada is hopefully a blip. Leading the revival is Aoife Wafer, player of the match in her first two appearances, who followed that up with a brace of tries against the Black Ferns. She’s from strong farming stock in Wexford, where her grandad Dan Wafer was a founding and lifelong member of the IFA.
Aoife’s uncle Peter Earle (also her coach), as IFA county chair, led the beef protest at Slaney Meats back in 2000, where the first agreement for £1/lb was secured.