Ireland's half-centurion Linda Djougang said the concession of five tries to Spain made victory bittersweet, despite her team qualifying the Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
Scott Bemand's side scored seven of their own to win a shootout 43-27 and will face reigning champions New Zealand in a group decider in Brighton next Sunday.
"What a tough game," prop Djougang told RTÉ Sport. "Spain really put it up to us. At half -time, we spoke about resetting.
"It's definitely not what we wanted, definitely not how we trained, but we knew Spain were good. We knew they were going to be challenging.
"We're happy with the win, but it's a little bit bittersweet, especially conceding in the last minute. That's definitely not what we wanted.
"You just want to win and we did that so we are definitely happy, but there's so much we left behind and so much that we need to learn ahead of next week. We need to get better.
"We know what a team they [New Zealand] are, they're the world champions. We played against them in WXV 1 and we came up with the win.
"We know it's not going to be an easy game, but we know the challenge that they bring. But we're quite excited for that."
"Nothing's linear in life"
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 31, 2025
Grace Moore reflects on her two-try performance against Spain today and her journey to being part of Ireland's World Cup squad #RWC2025 #rtesport pic.twitter.com/QHYyuuJ9Sz
Djougang (29) is the 15th Irish woman to earn 50 international caps, good going for someone who had to google the rules of the game before first trying it 10 years ago.
The only Ireland game she has missed since making her debut in 2019 was the Italy clash that year.
"It's crazy," she said. "It's been amazing to wear this jersey, to be part of this. The whole week was nice but our focus was really on the game.
"It was just like every other game but having the 50 does make it extra special."
Back row Grace Moore relished the contest and her two, nerve-settling, tries in the third quarter.
"It's the forward dominance, the backs kicking us into the corner. It's not about me," she said.
"It's Test-match rugby. You want a battle.
"We knew that they'd come out fighting and we knew that they'd never give up.
"[But] we don't want to be conceding as many points as we have, and there are there lessons to learn from that performance.
"Nothing's linear in life"
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 31, 2025
Grace Moore reflects on her two-try performance against Spain today and her journey to being part of Ireland's World Cup squad #RWC2025 #rtesport pic.twitter.com/QHYyuuJ9Sz
Moore had spoken recently of dealing with depression when she felt she was being forced to give up rugby for a teaching career.
The 29-year-old is now a full-time rugby player with a great chance of playing the world champions next weekend.
"Nothing's linear in life, but I think it's what makes you stronger and how you use what's happened to you," she said.
"I turned it around and spun it around in a positive light and tried to use it to my advantage. I had a brilliant support circle.
"They're the people that have made me get to where I am today, made me the person I am, and it's all about them.
"We are all buzzing for next week. We had a job at hand here today and we'll recover well and move on.
"It’s going to be some game. Sold out and we can't wait for that green wave to get behind us and support us again.
"It's such a special feeling to be part of this group."
"Hopefully there'll be another big Irish crowd there"
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 31, 2025
Dannah O'Brien scored Ireland's first try against Spain today and has been talking about the pros and cons from the overall display and the next assignment against New Zealand #RWC2025 #rtesport pic.twitter.com/HuOMHKj7uf
Out-half Dannah O'Brien scored one and converted three of her side's seven ties.
"It only took about 27, 28 caps but delighted to get a try," said the 21-year-old.
"It wasn't pretty at times, but just happy to get over the line as a squad and getting into the quarter-final as well is huge for us.
"Some small errors, maybe handling errors or discipline with the ref. Just us compounding errors, and letting Spain back in the game. It was an eventful game but happy with the result.
"This World Cup has been huge for us as a squad because we're still so young as a team. Thankfully, we're off to a good start and we just want to build on the momentum."
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