THE PLANE WAS approaching the runway. Anna Patten and the other passengers on the flight from Manchester to Dublin were being jolted about the place. It was a bumpy to say the least amid Storm Ashley, which can lead to some existential thoughts.
Let It All Work Out by Lil Wayne was blaring in the Ireland international’s ears.
“We came down, nope . . . straight back up, circled.
“Not great, did not enjoy it. I don’t like flying. I had my music playing loudly and was just trying to be like, ‘You’re fine.’”
I never change, you know I been this bitch
And then she said, ‘Let it all work out.’
Let it all work out, yeah.
Patten was en route for international duty on Sunday, a two-to-three hour delay on the runway in Manchester compounding her travel woe, but she eventually made it to Ireland camp ahead of this week’s Euro 2025 play-off first leg against Georgia.
Her journey was smoother than many of her team-mates’, with delays and cancellations impacting arrivals, but the squad travelled seamlessly to Tbilisi on Tuesday by charter flight.
Eileen Gleeson’s side face the European minnows on Friday evening, before a rematch in Dublin next Tuesday. The winners progress to final doubler-header play-off against Wales or Slovakia later this year, with Ireland the overwhelming favourites to clear this first hurdle.
They hammered Georgia 20-0 on aggregate in 2023 World Cup qualifying, while 94 places separate them in the Fifa World Rankings.
“We are all coming in knowing they are two must-win fixtures,” Patten, who has featured in all six games since her debut in April, says.
“That’s all we can look at. Previous results don’t matter. They are going to be willing to get to the Euros as much as us. We’ve got to be really ready for these games and not take them lightly.
“We need not to get frustrated. The opportunities will come. We have the forwards who are very capable of finishing the game off. Patience is a big word for us. Two games mean we can learn from the first game and grow, but hopefully we hit the ground running.”
It will be a “different shift” to the so-called Group of Death against France, England and Sweden, which they finished on a high with a monumental 3-1 win over the former at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in July.
“The France result showed everything we learned over the fixtures,” Aston Villa defender Patten continues. “Just being without the ball and learning to accept that pressure. And how we can defend in those scenarios as a team, and when we do regain the ball being really efficient.
“There are connections growing on the pitch and everyone is understanding each other’s roles. We can take confidence from beating France and take it forward.”
Onwards on their journey to qualify for their first-ever European Championships in Switzerland next summer.
“It’s a massive target. It’s really hard because you try your best not to look ahead but at Villa we had to do IDPs [Individual Development Plans] for the season and I made that one of my goals.
“It’s something I want to do this season. Since the last camp we know it is something we want to achieve.”
Patten’s Swiss team-mate at Villa, Noelle Maritz, has further whet the appetite. “I was just talking to her about what the buzz around the Euros is like, and she was saying there is stuff up already and all the tickets are already sold out,” she concludes.
“It is sounding like an unbelievable tournament. We really want to be part of that.”
Will it all work out? Here’s hoping.
Concussion becoming such a massive issue in the game is obviously what this is aiming to combat and rightly so but unfortunately below the waist tackles will completely change the game. Choke tackles along with attempts to rip the ball in contact will become extinct with players facing the fear of being reprimanded for a high tackle. As much as player welfare is a priority, I can’t see this trial becoming law
@S.Leahy: Also is encouraging the tackler’s head to be around hips and knees really such a good idea? Recipe for even more concussions imo..
@S.Leahy: ripping the ball would still be ok….. however I cannot see waist high tackles being introduced. From what I understand, the research shows that concussions are more likely for the tackler than the ball carrier. If the tackler had his head at waist height, he is more likely to end up with a collision with a knee, hip or elbow.
Better coaching of the tackle technique from u7s upwards is the answer to this problem and heavier sanctions in the adult game for dangerous tackle technique.
thats how it was done for yrs ..cheek to cheek is how it was coached
@Paul Ennis: not sure where you are coming from there. If its dangerous to tackle chest and head height which it clearly is then the only option is to tackle waist or down. This is what has been taught all along too the higher tackle is a modern phenomenon.
Furthermore its not dangerous unless tackle technique is poor and you get your head in front of the hips as opposed to behind.
The key thing to all if this is if you have no choice but to take somebody by the legs its much harder to do a dominant tackle as you go with the player when he falls forward.
This in turn will open up the game again to more tries as offloads and yardage will be easier
@Aaron Buckley: I think that tackling has become far more dangerous in the professional era as players have become bigger, faster and more aggressive. The Johnny Sexton / Owen Farrell style of poor tackle technique has also crept in more and more (not helped by the success of the choke tackle).
A 6ft 4 player with a poor technique is going to be far worse off if he is trying to get his shoulders and arms down to waist level…. the chances of his head getting in the way increase exponentially.
We can try to fix the long term problem by reinforcing the coaching techniques at youths (by the way…. In LB Minis above waist tackling is already supposed to be banned).
The short term problem is not so easy and I just dont think this proposal is the answer.
I really like the yellow upgrade to red during the sin bin…. this should eradicate the long TMO reviews while players are standing around watching. If the ref thinks it might be red, he can issue a yellow immediately and ask the TMO to review while play continues. Progressive and fair.
Is it just me or does it sound like rugby league rules coming in? Goal line drop out… 50/22 a little like 40/20.
Seems a bit strange
Not a huge fan of the below waist tackling, maybe a good idea up to u16 or something but most I’m not sure this will do much to prevent head knocks. If anything it’ll encourage guys to get even bigger in an attempt to steam roll the tackler. One of the Scottish back rows, Barclay I think, spoke out against this a few years back saying that the majority of his concussions had come as a result of low tackles – catching knees and hips to the head.
@Jim Demps: totally agree, tackling at the nipple line is about as safe as you can get from the tacklers view point and it allows to wrap the ball. Punish a high tackle and no arms tackling big time but from the belly button to the shoulder should be fair game
@Jim Demps: Lomu was able to steamroll guys because physically he was bigger and more powerful then his peers. That has evened itself out a lot more now in 2019 plus beyond that there is a limit to how big you can get and realistically get around the pitch. Especially in the much faster and open game they are trying to create here.
Tackling around the legs is how everyone was taught growing up. If it’s done with the right technique it’s a safe way to tackle.
The problem is when too dominant a tackle is attempted, its gets dangerous when trying to drive a man backwards. A safe legs tackle in turn will always concede a yard or so as it’s in essence tripping a man up with your shoulder and falling with him.
What implications that has then for the game is another story entirely
@Aaron Buckley: That’s just not true, tackling around the legs is far more dangerous for the tackler in terms of concussions. Safer for the person with the ball, but knees & hips can cause awful damage to the head, even with proper technique as you can’t always predict what the runner will do. Torso tackles are the safest for the tackler but if course run the risk of being too high
As a back I know that we prefer tackling around the chest as it means we can win the ball back and it’s easier. This prevents winning a scrum from a choke or ripping the ball which is a poor move. Only good thing I can see from it is offload game will get better
If you can only tackle below the waist, how do you defend against a pick-and-go from the base of a ruck where the attacking player stays at a crouch? Obviously you could tackle low from the side but a tackle from the front it would be nearly impossible without making some contact with the head/shoulders area.