REPUBLIC of Ireland Ladies captain Robyn Byrne says she is confident the defending WDF World Cup champions can land more gold as they aim to retain their title in South Korea next week.
Robyn will be part of a large Irish contingent of players, officials and fans gathering at Dublin Airport early on Saturday morning, as they head to the Far East with hopes high of success.
The World Cup win in Denmark in 2023 has only whetted the appetite for the Irish Ladies to go and do it again, with Robyn telling Darts In Ireland how she believes the team, made up of herself, Katie Sheldon, Denise Cassidy and Aoife McCormack, is primed for victory.
Robyn said: "We have a very strong team going again, with all four players proven competitors who are consistent at big competitions.
"That's exactly what you need if you want to win the team event, like we did last time, and I see no reason why we can't do it again."
Robyn will kick off her World Cup campaign in the Pairs event on Tuesday with her best pal, and Dublin team-mate, Katie Sheldon.
"I'm really looking forward to that as myself and Katie are so close and know each other's game so well," she said.
"Hopefully that will stand to us in the Pairs competition as I'm confident we will land some golds across the events.
"But I do think the team event is the most special to win as it shows that everybody on the team has played their part.
"That's what we are going to need if we are to win it again and I know that all of us can do that."
Robyn said that having the tournament in an exotic new location like South Korea has only added to the excitement for the players.
And she said she was keen to see how the Asian teams fared at this tournament, while warning that one of two of them may well cause some upsets.
She said: "I've been captaining Ireland teams at international tournaments for the past nine or ten years so I'm well used to it now, but it's still exciting.
"It's especially so this time, given we are going to somewhere like South Korea.
"It will be interesting to see how the Asian teams get on this time. Some of them will be strong, Like the Japan team has Mikuru Suzuki, who is a very good player. I don't know much about the rest of their team by they are obviously good players if they are playing with Mikuru.
"The likes of England and Wales and Netherlands, we know very well having played them at the Six Nations. They are obviously strong teams but nothing for us to worry about. It's these other teams that might be the ones to look out for."
While most of the attention will be on the players, Robyn reserved praise for the Irish management team of Kevin Devaney, Paddy Cullen and Chris Curran, who will be looking after all the Irish teams at the tournament.
She says the work they do behind the scenes helps the players to concentrate on their game.
Robyn said: "I know Kevin very well as he was our manager when we won the World Cup and he knows how everything works at these competitions.
"He would do anything for us players and if any issues pop up he is the first to sort them out, which is a big help for us."
Robyn will be cheered on in South Korea by her parents and her boyfriend Lewis Ireland, a Republic of Ireland international in his own right.
"They wouldn't miss a trip like this," she quipped.
"But it will be great to have their support over there and we also get so much support from everyone back home which means a lot to us.
"We hope to do everyone proud and I'm certain we will come back with some medals."
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