Ailish Quinn says women's rugby going in the right direction ahead of Six Nations

Michael Bolton

Attention in women's rugby will soon turn to the women's Six Nations, with Mayo woman Ailish Quinn among the young players included.

With one cap for her country so far, Quinn is among several young faces included by Scott Beamand, with nine uncapped players included.

After quarter-final heartbreak to France, Ireland will be keen to close the gap on the big two nations in France and England.

For Quinn, having seen the excitement around the team at the World Cup in England, she hopes this excitement will continue around women's rugby.

"We all saw what the World Cup did for the women's game", says Quinn.

"We are just going to build off that and bring it into the Six Nations. It was really cool to see because supporters are starting to see the women's game is just as good as the men's game.

"We are finally starting to get the recognition we want."

Playing in the back row, the Mayo woman is under no illusions of the challenges she faces in competing for a place in the matchday squad.

However, the Connacht back-row is looking forward to learning more from her teammates and using it to her advantage.

"It is exciting to be able to say you are playing with these big names and you are getting the opportunity to compete against them for that position.

"You are also learning so much from them; they have so much experience ahead of you. A couple of the girls are playing in England, so they are going to have the experience of playing with World Cup winners, and they will be able to bring it back and show us.

"It doesn't seem like competition because you are learning so much off each other."

It will be a historic Six Nations for Ireland, with their opening game set to be in front of a huge crowd in Twickenham, while they will finish the tournament in the Aviva Stadium against Scotland.

Playing in the Aviva would be a dream come true for Quinn.

"It is massive for Irish rugby. To be able to play in Twickenham against the world champions, that is where we want to be, playing top contenders in their biggest stadiums.

"For Irish rugby to be playing in the Aviva is class as well. I know for myself, I have always said I would love to have played in the Aviva. In the last couple of years, I never thought that would happen, but to see that it is, it shows we are going in the right direction.