IT BEGAN AS a bit of a laugh and a way to harness camaraderie in the camp but when the Irish women’s rugby strength and conditioning coach, Marian Earls, offered to shave her head if they beat New Zealand, she didn’t know what kind of a situation she’d gotten herself into.
That was a while back when the Wicklow woman made the pledge, but when she saw the progress her charges were making before and after the Six Nations, the stark reality of her vow began to sink in.
But when the final whistle blew in Paris last night following the historic 17-14 win over the Black Ferns, it was captain Fiona Coghlan who came to Earls’ rescue.
“That was a funny one,” laughed Earls, 27, this morning “We had said that for every game we win the manager, Philip Doyle, could set a dare or challenge so I said ‘if we win against New Zealand I’ll shave the side of my head like Ellie Goulding’ but thankfully, Fiona Coghlan talked me out of it and instead of shaving the hair I’m getting an orange tan all over and the forwards coach, Peter Bracken, is dyeing his hair purple or shaving it as well maybe.
“It was fantastic to win last night,” she said, “and just rewards for the hard work everyone has been putting in. But at the same time, it was just another game, we’re moving forward now and it won’t mean as much if we don’t go and win the World Cup, if that doesn’t sound too arrogant.
“It was a stepping stone, beating New Zealand, so we’re onto the next step on our journey. We need to play well and perform against Kazakhstan on Friday and get a place in the semi-final and perform there as well. Look, It’s great, it’s historic, it’s fantastic but it will mean nothing if we can’t perform in the next few games.”
