After losing a fourth game in a row - the latest by close to 50 points - it would have been understandable if the Irish players didn't want to hang around Musgrave Park following their Six Nations defeat to England on Saturday.
But for roughly 30 minutes after the final whistle, the bulk of the players were still out there by the sideline barriers of the west stand, taking pictures and signing jerseys of the kids who were queuing up five and six deep to meet their heroes.
While growing the women's game in Ireland is ultimately the responsibility of the IRFU, having accessible players engaging with supporters goes a long way, a fact not lost on Deribhile Nic a Bháird.
"We've spoken about that as a group," the Munster back row says about their engagement with supporters.
"It isn't just about the group training here week-in and week-out. It is about that next generation."
A crowd of 5,309 supporters watched Saturday's 48-0 defeat to England at Musgrave Park, and while it will be dwarfed by the 50,000-plus who will be at Twickenham for this Saturday's Grand Slam decider between England and France, it's a healthy attendance considering Ireland's place in the women's game right now.
Having travelled around the grounds in 2022, the Irish women's team have joined the under-20s in making Musgrave Park their new home this year, something which has made the campaign more special for a local like Nic a Bháird.
"I've absolutely loved playing in Cork. I'm about 15 minutes home from Musgrave as well, so I was able to go home for a roast on Sunday which was pretty good!" she laughs.
"The fans have been absolutely incredible and I think the support and determination that even the five, six and seven-year-olds [showed], they don't care about scorelines, and we really, really enjoy connecting with that group of supporters.
"The squad take that responsibility quite seriously. We make a big effort to be it on the pitch after those challenging days, because at the end of the day it's about what we represent, and not just the results. It's about keeping people playing, keeping the club game alive, keeping all of those supporters engaged and showing them we really appreciate the time they spend, and the efforts they spend, like parents bringing kids to games and training.
"All of those things feed into what the future of this sport is for us. We take massive pride in being able to represent ourselves well and giving momentum to that."
The Old Belvedere back row has impressed in an otherwise poor campaign for Ireland, who travel to Scotland on Saturday needing a bonus-point win to stand any chance of avoiding a wooden spoon.
The 27-year-old isn't currently contracted to the IRFU, although was previously on a Sevens deal before taking time away from the game in 2021. Having returned to rugby, and returned to college last year, Nic a Bháird is open to taking on a professional deal next season.
And having returned to the Irish XV's squad this year for the first time since 2019, she says the campaign has been hugely rewarding, even if results haven't gone according to plan.
"It's been a challenging couple of weeks, I don't think there's any shying away from that, but at the same time I've still really enjoyed it.
"There's a brilliant group of players and a brilliant management team, and we've been living off the buzz around the championship. Despite difficult results at times, we've been rallying around each other, and I'm just loving playing, to be honest.
"Some of those matches, moments in those matches, have been some of the proudest I've had in an Irish jersey. The way we've banded together and kept going through some rough patches in those games is a credit to the girls," she added.
Simply winning in Edinburgh this weekend may not be enough for Ireland to avoid a bottom-place finish. But after four defeats from four, the versatile forward says signing off with a win would still give them great confidence.
"It'll be disappointing if that's the end result [wooden spoon] but we just have to go out against Scotland to beat Scotland. That's all we can do. So I think that's the mindset, stick to our guns, do what we know is our system and follow that process and if we stick to those things and come out with a performance I think that's a major positive take away.
"I can't speak on behalf of the whole team, but any win is a win, and despite maybe that being a difficult thing to swallow, we have to take the wins when they come, and if it's off the back of a good performance we have to take that as well. What we're building towards is good performances, building the depth and experience in the squad, so each of those things is as important as anything else."
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