Following Norkett’s tragic passing, stalwart Taylor says there had been a “heightened emotion around everything” in the last fortnight: “It’s a credit to the girls for putting in the work they did in the week and to come out against Ireland and really do Elli proud. We had a really emotional shirt presentation from Elli’s family the night before the match, and it shows how much our rugby family means to us.”
Though obviously disappointed not to get the result Wales were after, Taylor believes Norkett “would have been proud” of the performance. “We looked strong in their half, so there’s plenty to work on. These are the type of challenges we want: we want close encounters, but we need to start getting the wins from them,” says Taylor. “Every time we play Ireland it’s always close. They have a similar playing style to us, and we quite enjoy it because it does invite us to play our rugby. The counter side of that, I guess, is that it invites them to play theirs. We were just disappointed to concede that try before half-time.”
There is lots to work on, Taylor admits, but she believes the team is getting closer to where they want to be. “Our fitness was pretty good, lasting the full 80 minutes. We know we’ve got a good defence, but if you’re under the cosh for 20-odd minutes, constantly defending, it takes it out of you. It’s a massive year for us, though, and we’re building towards a World Cup, so there’s going to be things we’ll try and work on to take into the game against France this weekend.”
Wilkins, who got her first Championship start in the number ten jersey on Saturday, says the first half hour, when Wales were “having a go” and spreading the ball wide, was a particular positive. “There were just a few critical errors and penalties on our part that let Ireland into the game,” she explains, “and once we gave them that momentum they kicked on, like the good team they are.”
The 21-year-old from Porthcawl says she was also impressed by the tenacity of the Irish defence: “They had us man-marked most of the game, but I think when we got into key areas, it was those mistakes with the last pass, or the last couple of phases which unfortunately let us down. I can’t fault our girls’ effort, though: they were outstanding. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
Wilkins describes the way the team has handled the past two weeks as fuelled by the motivation to come out and perform for their former teammate: “The team has been outstanding. Training has been really good, with probably the best team run we’ve had so far, but it’s just gutting we couldn’t get the result.”
Away in France this weekend, Wilkins is adamant that Wales Women are “going to give it absolutely everything. There’s nothing to lose, so we’ll just have to go out there and put in a good performance. It would be great to get the win out there and go into World Cup having finished this tournament on a high.”
France Women v Wales Women kicks off this Saturday at 20:00 (GMT) at Stade Amédée Domenech in Brive. It will be streamed live on the Women’s Six Nations Facebook and YouTube channel.
