World Cup a 'dream come true' for Dalton

Aoife Dalton is enjoying life at centre alongside Eve Higgins

Women's Rugby World Cup - Pool C: Ireland v Spain

Venue: Franklin's Gardens, Northampton Date: Sunday, 31 August Kick-off: 12:00 BST

Coverage: Live on BBC Two, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sport website and app.

Representing Ireland in the World Cup has been a "dream come true" for centre Aoife Dalton.

The 22-year-old made her international debut in 2022 and, just three years later, was voted player of the year by her peers at May's Rugby Players Ireland Awards.

Dalton made her World Cup debut during last week's 42-14 win against Japan as her influence on the Irish side continues to grow.

What has also blossomed is her centre partnership with Eve Higgins as they get ready to take on Spain in Northampton on Sunday.

"It's taken a while to build," she said of that partnership when speaking to BBC Sport NI.

"She's probably had to get used to me more than I've had to get used to her, but she is a brilliant player and someone I watched a lot when I was younger on the Sevens series and playing on the XVs.

"It's surreal being here as I never thought I'd get to play in a World Cup, so it's a dream come true. I'm just trying to enjoy it and take it all in, not get too worked up over anything."

'The sky's the limit for this Irish team'

Although not downplaying the Spanish assignment, Dalton believes "the sky's the limit" for this Irish team.

Since the arrival of Scott Bemand as head coach, there has been an upturn in fortunes, but not to the extent that Ireland are considered favourites to go all that way.

That status suits just fine for Dalton who says Ireland will simply attack each game on its own merits and see where that may lead.

"We don't put any boundaries on ourselves," she said.

"We just want to target the knockout stages and go as far as we can. As dark horses, people probably don't expect too much from us, but I can't wait for the next couple of weeks.

"We haven't spoken too much about a quarter-final or qualifying yet. We've just been taking it game by game and this week has been all about Spain, but qualifying would be brilliant."