Monaghan urges Ireland to repeat famous NZ win
Monaghan missed out on last year's win against the Black Ferns due to injury
- Published
Women's Rugby World Cup - Pool C: Ireland v New Zealand
Venue: Brighton & Hove Albion Stadium Date: Sunday, 7 September Kick-off: 14:45 BST
Coverage: Live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from 14:30, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra from 14:30 and BBC Radio Ulster and Foyle from 14:00; also live with text commentary on the BBC Sport website.
Injury kept Sam Monaghan out of Ireland's historic win against New Zealand last year but says it's "great to be involved" for Sunday's Pool C decider against the Black Ferns in Brighton.
Monaghan was withdrawn after 10 minutes in last Sunday's win against Spain having picked up a knock to the hip, but that was mere precaution and reports she is ready to go in the second row alongside Ruth Campbell.
Watching on from the sideline in Vancouver last year was a bittersweet moment for the co-captain as although delighted with the result, there was disappointment not to play her part.
The New York-born 32-year-old who grew up in Meath has her opportunity to go up against the world champions on Sunday and like her team-mates, is "excited" at the prospect.
"I would have been gutted to miss this one, especially after Vancouver when the girls put in a historic win," Monaghan told BBC Sport NI.
"You've a bit of a heavy heart as you're so proud but in the depths of depression with injury.
"It was such an amazing win as they played with such bravery and heart, so it's great to be involved to give it a go on Sunday."
'We can take confidence from last year's win'
That 29-27 against New Zealand in WXV1 brought added confidence to the Ireland squad that they could compete with the top teams.
Monaghan says the challenge is to "back that up" but accepts they are facing a much different New Zealand team on Sunday.
"We can take confidence from it, but both teams have evolved so much in the last year," she added.
"It's going to be a new challenge we take on but a really exciting one and we're ready for it. We want to showcase what we've gone after in the last year.
"We want to bring extra physicality as we know New Zealand will bring that, so we need to take it on a step from what we did against Spain and Japan. Just be clinical with our game-plan as well.
"We know it's going to be a tough battle, but we're really excited for it."