CIARA Griffin will look to channel her inner Serena Williams as she strives to lead Ireland to World Cup qualification next month.
Griffin had two big sporting role models when she was growing up - tennis superstar Williams and Munster and Ireland rugby player Siobhan Fleming.
“In terms of Siobhan Fleming, she was just a superb athlete at back row and she was local," explained the 27-year-old.
"In terms of Serena Williams it was her formidable attitude. Never say die. There were no obstacles.
"She’s obviously physically very strong and as a young girl growing up I was bigger and stronger than people my age and you would be self-conscious so that was interesting for me, to see that she is strong and powerful and really successful and she loves it.
"It just made things a bit easier for me.
"As girls growing up there is a stigma sometimes, that you should look a certain way, play certain sports or be a certain size and I loved that you could be strong and powerful and successful.”
As a primary school teacher and a rugby international, Griffin believes that things have improved somewhat in that regard, given there is now more focus on women's sports, but says there is room for more improvement.
“It depends on your environment but it is definitely improving," said the Munster and Ireland star.
"I was teaching a PE lesson last year and one of the girls threw the ball.
"She said, ‘I’m getting stronger’. She was proud of that and that change of phrase for me made my week.
"That for me is fantastic. It’s changing the wording around it, that it’s positive to be strong. We are definitely improving but there is always room for more.”
These crucial qualifiers - one team from Ireland, hosts Italy, Scotland and will qualify for the finals in New Zealand next year - take place from September 13 to 25.
It's a condensed window and while the squad have been together since the end of June, they have only played three competitive games in the Six Nations since last year.
But flanker Molloy said: "It's time to perform really, isn't it?
"We're looking forward to it, looking forward to finally having the qualifiers because they've been pushed on so many times.
"We're happy it's next month. We've been training hard all summer, so we're looking forward to performing in September.
"It has been tough. With Covid, you never knew what was around the corner. It's not just sport, it's all areas. You have to understand that as well.
"Now, the fact we have matches gives us that focus.
"Before, you were preparing and building towards a certain date. All of a sudden, it was changing.
"It is hard, not just mentally but physically as well.
"The fact we've had these dates set in stone has made preparation more straightforward for us and mentally as well, for our scheduling also.
"We want to perform out there and get the result because at the end of the day, our target is the World Cup and this is our pathway, our gateway, to that.
"So we need to be confident in our ability and in what we've done.
"But there's four teams, one spot, we have to expect the unexpected and learn to adapt to that."
