'It’s just going to get bigger': O'Brien looking forward to riding the Green Wave again

A week ago Ireland’s Dannah O’Brien was one of 37 players that took part in a three-day training camp at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin.

Head coach Scott Bemand included 10 uncapped players in the training squad as the team’s 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations preparations began.

It was also confirmed that Erin King had succeeded Edel McMahon and Sam Monaghan as the team’s captain. Just a month King’s senior, 30-cap O’Brien is part of a large clutch of players Ireland will be hanging their hopes on for many years to come.

There is strong desire for Aoife Wafer to continue dominating in the back-row. As Ireland finished third in the 2025 Guinness Women’s Six Nations the 22-year-old flanker was named Player of the Championship and in the Team of the Championship alongside Neve Jones and Aoife Dalton.

It is also hoped that 22-year-old lock Ruth Campbell will be packing down for much of the next decade, while the likes of Sophie Barrett, Jemima Adams Verling and India Daley are highly thought of talents.

“A lot of the group hasn’t changed since the World Cup,” O’Brien told RugbyPass. “We’ve had a few new additions like Niamh Gallagher and Cara McLean coming in from Celtic Challenge and PWR (teams).

“It is sort of staying consistent, but with a good few new players coming in as well. We have a good blend of experience. I’ve gained a lot of experience over the last few years and through that World Cup as well.”

O’Brien can even expect further competition at fly-half as 19-year-old Caitriona Finn’s performances for Munster and Clovers has placed an Ireland cap in her immediate future.

“She’s really good,” O’Brien said. “Competition is always good. In training it is good when people are competing in every position. It’s huge in the backline. There are loads of options in every position, so I suppose that just drives us on as a squad.”

The camp in Dublin also closed the door firmly on Ireland’s 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup campaign. It was a tournament that O’Brien and her teammates could still have frustrations with if they chose.

France’s second half comeback in Exeter dashed any hopes of the Green Wave progressing to the final four. There is also the matter of the now infamous Axelle Berthoumieu bite on Aoife Wafer which was missed on the day, which subsequently saw the hooker banned for nine games. France captain Manae Feleu was also cited for a dangerous tackle in the same game and handed a three-game ban.

O’Brien has mixed memories from her first Women’s Rugby World Cup. Because, yes, the weather at Sandy Park in the quarter-final did not allow her to impress her kicking game, but against Japan there was a full circle moment as the playmaker competed against the team she won her first cap against. There was even a moment for appreciation as Zombie filled Sussex skies as Ireland were nilled by the Black Ferns.

“It was a good experience,” O’Brien said. “We were disappointed at the time that we couldn’t get it over the line and get into that semi-final. Overall, it was a really good trip.

“There’s lots of good to take from it. One being the amount of support that grew as the competition went on. That game in Brighton against New Zealand, there was massive Irish support.

 

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“That was the main thing I took away from that quarter-final, just how much support had grown for us. I think it’s just going to get bigger as well going into the Six Nations.”

Already O’Brien’s hope is being realised. The 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations is set to be the biggest edition of the Championships to date.

England Rugby have confirmed that over 50,000 tickets have been sold for their tournament opener against Ireland at Allianz Stadium, Wales will play a game at the Principality Stadium, France will play at the 42,000 capacity Mamut Atlantique Stadium, Scotland will play at Murrayfield and Dublin’s Aviva Stadium will host a standalone women’s fixture for the very first time.

“From a personal point of view, it’s just exciting to be there,” O’Brien said about the prospect of playing at these stadia. “To play in front of crowds that big and to have family and friends (there).

“We have so much support from our Green Wave here in Ireland, and even when we go abroad. It gives us another challenge from a team perspective.

“The game has grown. There’s going to be bigger crowds and to learn how to adapt to that pressure as a team.

“When I was growing up, I didn’t have exposure to seeing it on TV and stuff – just the crowds and the sheer amount of people going to games (at the Women’s Rugby World Cup) and buying tickets (was amazing).”

But until those heady days at world class venues come around O’Brien will go back to playing in the Celtic Challenge. So far this season the out-half and Wolfhounds top the six-team table and have been faultless across the first four rounds.

O’Brien has relished the opportunity to play with international teammates Aoife Dalton and Eve Higgins on a weekly basis. That’s before you even mention the other bucketload of Ireland internationals in Neill Alcorn’s team.

There are just less than three months until Ireland take on world champions England at Allianz Stadium.

By then you can be certain that several thousand more tickets will have been sold at the venue the Red Roses scratched their 11-year itch for world supremacy. All that can be done now is sticking to the process.

“There’s no big goals,” O’Brien said. “It is just improving week on week, trying to put our best game out in the Celtic Challenge and using that as a platform ahead of the Six Nations.

 

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“Just cracking on with the basic skills. Our contact, our handling. Kicking, for me. The game itself comes down to small margins. Especially international games.

“Sometimes it is just about which team can generate the quickest ball. That comes from things like carry tech and breakdown work.

“Rugby is a game made difficult sometimes. Sometimes it is about who can do the basics the best.”