Ireland captain Ciara Griffin says the squad has never been more ready or better prepared to play in the Six Nations Championship.

Ireland have only played one game in the past year because of the pandemic.

"It has been a tough few months with a lot of uncertainty but we can't wait to go out and show the work we have been doing behind the scenes," Griffin said.

Ireland defeated Wales 31-12 in last year's Six Nations before the Covid-19 pandemic forced the tournament to be postponed.

They defeated Italy in a rearranged Six Nations game in October and despite having their World Cup qualifiers shelved, and the Six Nations moved to April with only three fixtures to play instead of five, Griffin says they trained harder than ever.

"We have been champing at the bit for nearly six months but we put the time to good use," said Griffin.

"I can't commend these girls enough. They are the most resilient and dedicated group you could meet.

"We had over 20 training camps and over 60 pitch sessions and left no stone unturned basically.

"We have all pushed each other and we have been looking forward to this moment for a long time. I can't wait to pull the jersey on again."

Wales were beaten 53-0 by France in their opening game last weekend with Ireland having a bye week.

However Griffin is not concerned the Irish team goes into the tournament underprepared.

"We have made the most of our time in the gym and in analysis time as well as all those camps and pitch sessions. We have never had so much contact time," she said.

"We have had internal games which are ferocious. They definitely get you ready for Test rugby.

"I think we are very happy with our preparations and now we just want to get out there and play and show everyone what we can do."