WHILE all eyes are naturally on the men's and ladies teams playing for Ireland at the Six Nations in Wales this weekend, another pair of rising darts stars will soon get to pull on the Irish shirt at the WDF World Cup in Korea.
The Laois pair of Rachel Ivers and Zoe Burke will be on the plane to the Far East in September after dominating the INDO Girls ranking events last year.
The two are now aiming to make their mark on the international stage and certainly don't lack in confidence in their ability to do so.
Given the growing strength of the youth game in Ireland, Rachel said making the Ireland team was a massive achievement for her.
She told Darts In Ireland: "I'm so happy I made it because it was my goal all year. I wanted this badly and I'm just so delighted it has happened.
"The standard is getting so much better in the girls game now as more players get involved. There is so many new faces and you never know what they are capable of and then the older ones are getting better all the time too. The standard has gone up so much in the past two years."
Her good pal Zoe says she is really looking forward to playing in a competition as prestigious as the World Cup.
She said: "I just can't wait to go really. I'm thinking about it but I'm not nervous, I'm ready to go for it.
"I've been practising a lot lately and really can't wait for it now."
Zoe revealed how her friends away from darts have been captivated by her success on the oche.
She said she hopes her achievements can inspire more girls to take up the game she loves.
She said: "My friends away from darts, they don't really understand darts but they think it is unbelievable that I'm playing at big competitions and for Ireland.
"They do have loads of questions and I love answering them and giving them knowledge about darts so maybe they can pick it up themselves."
Zoe added that she was confident that she and Rachel will perform well together at the World Cup.
"Hopefully we will do well, we click very well as a pair and that will stand to us," she said.
Meanwhile, Rachel revealed how the support of their families has been crucial to their success.
She added: "My family are supporting me all the time. They get my games up on live streams so others can watch them and are always texting me with messages of support which is a massive help to me."
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