How influential is Aoife Wafer? For the best answer to that question, take a look at Brittany Hogan's numbers last weekend against Wales.
Two tries, 22 carries and 12 tackles. Still not enough to win Player of the Match.
As usual, Wafer’s stat line makes for phenomenal reading; two tries of her own, 20 carries for 100 metres, 12 tackles, three of which were dominant, three offloads (including a try assist for Béibhinn Parsons), and a turnover won.
After the 26-7 defeat to France, the Ireland number 8 sounded a warning: "I take losses quite personally". On Saturday, she took her frustrations out on the Welsh.
Despite that heaving stats report, the 23-year-old kept a straight face this week when declaring that she "probably left a few percents out in certain parts" of her game.
The obvious question then, would be what are those "few percents"?
"I think everyone talks about the 'super strengths’ and that kind of thing," Wafer (below) answered.
"For me, my super strength is probably that carrying game, but it's about how do you become more physical, how do you become more dominant in those collisions?
"Was I dominant in every collision? No, probably not. I think I probably could have bossed a few more situations and it's about chasing those.
"Then defensively as well, it's about how do you be more dominant, because I'm not just happy with being dominant, I want to be the most dominant."
She describes a pre-training ‘Run it Straight’ drill with defence coach James Scaysbrook, which one would hope is a sanitised and lab-conditioned version of controversial collision sport from Australia and New Zealand, given we’re in a Test week.
Last week’s win against Wales was the perfect illustration of how Wafer is a force-multiplier for this Irish team.
By now, teams have a target on her back, and her game has grown to reflect that. As she broke from a scrum on 29 minutes against Wales in Belfast, she batted off an early tackle from Jorja Aiono down the blind side of the pitch, pulling in three Welsh defenders like a magnet.
Beibhinn Parsons restores the Irish lead after excellent work from Aoife Wafer #W6N
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 9, 2026
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While they eventually brought her to ground, it left a chasm of space out wide, where a perfect offload allowed Parsons cruise in and score Ireland’s second try of the game.
"I think those moments come off the back of being dominant in collisions," she adds.
"I do a lot of analysis on different back rows and that kind of thing and I knew that I could probably win a race around some of their back rows.
"It's about beating the first defender and then seeing what you can do after that and trying to get to one of the backs, because when a forward runs at a back, you're probably going to be a bit more dominant and you look for those collisions because it's just a little bit of a mismatch.
"I've played with Béi long enough now to nearly sense where she is.
"I think those moments come off the back of dominant collisions and I'm just grateful that Béi has the place to finish it off."
Sunday’s meeting with Scotland will be a "full circle moment" for the Wexford native, as Ireland play a first ever standalone Test at Aviva Stadium, where ticket sales have now cleared 30,000, a tally which should triple the current record crowd for a home Ireland game.
"It's kind of like a full circle moment"
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 14, 2026
Ireland's Aoife Wafer is relishing the opportunity to line out at Aviva Stadium on Sunday in their final fixture of the Women's Six Nations campaign pic.twitter.com/0v5RgaZa6H
The only previous women’s international at the Aviva was back in 2014 when Ireland hammered Italy, the second game of a Six Nations double header that afternoon.
By the time the women’s teams kicked off, the remaining crowd was sparse, but a 10-year-old Wafer was one of them.
"To remember those moments of post-game, interacting with the players, and the really good win that they had that day too, is something that stood with me forever," she says of that day.
"I think now it's nearly a full circle moment to be able to get out onto the pitch myself."
That memory of staying on after the game, and interacting with her heroes of the time - Claire Molloy and Lynne Cantwell – is one that Wafer and her team-mates clearly carry with them.
Anybody who has been to an Ireland women’s international rugby game will have seen how long the players spend hanging around the sidelines long after the final whistle, taking selfies and signing jerseys or hats or whatever is presented to them.
"I know myself as a kid going to these games how much of an impact that has on people. I'd say I have plenty of yokes signed in the house.
"I have a 2013 jersey hanging up on the wall, it's above my bed and it's from when they won the Grand Slam.
"It's sat there ever since I was a kid, ever since I got it for my birthday. It's signed by the team and it's those sort of moments that stick with kids.
"It could inspire the next person to come along and wear a green jersey. We try and do everything we can to help kids get into sport, not just rugby.
"I think if we can inspire one kid, then that's the job done really, isn't it?"
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Follow our live blog on Ireland v Scotland in the Guinness Women's Six Nations on Sunday from 2.30pm and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch Wales v Italy (12.15pm) and France v England (4.45pm) on RTÉ Player
