Monaghan hopes new milestone can further inspire Ireland

Ireland second row Sam Monaghan hopes Sunday's historic Women's Six Nations game against Scotland in Dublin can further inspire the current crop of Irish internationals, as well as future generations, to even greater heights. A record crowd of almost 32,000 spectators watched the Irish team defeat the Scots 54-5 to claim third place in the championship in the first standalone women's rugby match to be played at the venue. The occasion represented the latest ground-breaking milestone in the growth of the women's game and built on the progress made on and off the field in recent years.

"We were enjoying it, we were having the times of our lives and that is when we play our best rugby. I don't think I've seen us enjoy a game as much," Monaghan told BBC Sport NI's Ireland Rugby Social podcast . "For anyone in the crowd now, it was like this is an opportunity for you.

You can go play in the Aviva Stadium for your country, and hopefully it just gets bigger and better as well. "Because at the minute, yes we are getting better, but we need to keep on top it, we can't stay stagnant, we need to keep on moving. "The exciting thing is there is so much we can get better at, we can improve on.

" 'Greeted by a sea of green' The former Ireland co-captain made her first start of the Six Nations campaign in last weekend's victory, having come off the bench in the previous three matches and missed the opener away to England through injury. Monaghan said the entire landmark day was one which would live long in her memory. "As we came into the stadium it was like a sea of green.