TOMORROW’S OPPOSITION THROWS up fond memories: Neve Jones’ first Ireland start came against Japan in November 2021, a 15-12 win unfolding at the RDS.

“I can remember the feeling, pulling on the number two jersey for the first time,” she smiles down a video call from Shizuoka as Greg McWilliams’ side prepare to face the Sakura Fifteen in their first Test of this historic summer tour tomorrow [11am, TG4].

“You can’t really put words on how it feels to do so, and to be able to do it again during the Six Nations… you’re just filled with pride and passion, and you want to put the jersey in a better place each time.

“Hopefully I’ve done that and will continue to do that this weekend. As I said before, and will say again, I’m raring to go and tear it up on the field with the girls.”

That pride and passion Jones mentions is best seen later on in the call when she’s asked about seizing this opportunity, and everyone wanting to leave a mark.

Having firmly established herself in the team in recent months, the 23-year-old hooker is always striving for more.

“When you pull on the green jersey, there’s no better feeling. It’s like every Christmas Day you had as a kid pulled into one. When you come off the pitch, you want to put it [the jersey] back on, and play more rugby, even though you’ve played 80 minutes. You want to do your country proud, do your friends, family and yourself proud, and there’s no better feeling when you come off the pitch and you’ve done that. And then you’re ready to go and do it again next week.”

This is a hugely exciting time for Irish women’s rugby; a first-ever tour, historic contracts and an impressive IRFU appointment in Gillian McDarby as Head of Women’s Performance and Pathways.

There’s a real new chapter-feel among the group, the buzz and unity striking.

There have also been interesting additions to McWilliams’ coaching ticket, with John McKee and Denis Fogarty coming on board. The former was previously at the Fiji helm, the latter a scrum-coach, and Jones has enjoyed working closely with the duo.

“Both of them are a character-and-a-half themselves. They came into the squad and we’ve just clicked with them. It’s great to hear some of their ideas and they both align very well with each other. They’ve connected with us as players, so the things they’ve put on the table we’ve been really receptive to.

“Set-piece is such a huge part of the game and we’ve worked on it for the past couple of weeks, and we’re ready to see how we fare on Saturday. The work that the lads have put in has been great for us, and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, and can’t wait to get to the field.

McKee on the training field. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

“We’re buzzing to go, asking if we can do extra reps after training, but they’re telling us we’ve been out on our feet long enough, to go get some downtime.”

“Being able to have knowledge across coaches, to give you little tips is brilliant, and the boys have worked really hard to bring us together as a squad,” she adds on the welcome consistent voices.

“We’ve got a great connection with both Denis and John, it’s been great to work with them, and hopefully we’ll do them proud.”

In line for her 12th cap among a cohesive, familiar pack, as opposed to the new-look backline, Jones is confident Ireland can “top the physicality” and impose their own game.

“They’re going to play a fast tempo game, they’ll want to move the ball and keep it alive,” the Ballymena star concludes.

“Personally I’m not that big a player, but loads of the players on the team are strong athletes, and I’m going to say they’ll want to keep the ball away from our ballmakers, but we’ll put our best foot forward, and show them that Ireland are here for a fight, and we’re here to play some rugby.

“Any rugby match brings challenges, and yes, we’re prepared, and yes, we’re ready to go, but a rugby match is a rugby match and things chop and change as they go. That’s one part I love, to see what they bring and hopefully we’ll smash it out of the park and enjoy ourselves.”