On the day Scott Bemand named his squad to for the upcoming Women's Rugby World Cup, former Ireland flanker Anna Caplice has predicted a glorious run to the competition's semi-finals for the Irish team.
The squad was boosted by the news that Six Nations Player of the Tournament, Aoife Wafer, has recovered in time from knee surgery to take her place in the 32-player group ahead of their Pool C campaign against first Japan, then Spain and finally New Zealand.
"Getting to a semi-final would be brilliant," Caplice told Shane Dawson on RTÉ 2FM's Game On show. "To win a quarter final and get into semi-final. That would be a huge mark of success.
"So, the pool is interesting because you've got Japan up first who are never to be underestimated despite what people think.
"We had them in our group in the World Cup in 2017; they are tough as nails, really smart. They'll work all day. So that's a big opening game for Ireland. Then Spain. We've had our woes with Spain in the past who are also a really strong team."
Ireland scored a famous victory over a much-fancied Australia in their opening tie back in 2017 at the UCD Bowl. They then had 10 points to spare over Japan in their second game before being well beaten by France.
In the end, a rematch with the Aussies in the fifth-place play-off saw the Girls in Green defeated, eventually finishing eighth after one more loss to Wales in the seventh-place decider.
This time around, Corkwoman Caplice sees much more on the horizon for Bemand's crew - but she cautioned that any player looking to far ahead to that tasty third fixture against the Kiwis might be caught with their eye off the ball.
"It can be viewed as maybe an easy pool, but it's absolutely not," Caplice insisted. "The girls have to have their eye on the ball and not look too far ahead, which is that big game against New Zealand in Brighton. That's what they're obviously building towards, but we can't overlook those first two fixtures.
"But all going well, if it's Ireland at their best, they'll get out of the pool. If they can maintain that rhythm. You've got Aoife Wafer coming back in and you've got some girls there that are really stepping up to the mark.
"It’s so excited to see [Wafer] back in – we had a huge performance from Grace Moore there like last week.
"Dannah O'Brien, if she's able to start to really feel at home at the ten position and control the games, I don't see why Ireland can't get us to a World Cup semi-final."
Listen back to Monday's episode of Game On right HERE. The Anna Caplice interview begins around the 28-minute mark.
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