Rugby World Cup winner Danielle Waterman admits she feels she has to ‘justify’ her place as a commentator because people judge her more harshly as a woman.

Waterman made her commentary debut in the men’s Six Nations match between Ireland and Italy last weekend alongside Miles Harrison and Gordon D’Arcy.

She was trolled on social media during and after the match, with some users labelling her ‘whiny’ and 'clueless’.

She told The Telegraph: "Maybe I put more pressure on myself to not just do a good job, but to do a great job, to kind of stamp home that women have a right and a role in sports media.

"One thing I have felt is that continually having to justify my place in that space is really draining and also takes a massive knock on my confidence."

Maggie Alphonsi was also part of the matchday media team as she returned to work just three weeks after giving birth.

She tweeted: "Three weeks after giving birth and it was great to be back in the studio with the @ITVRugby team for the 6Ns. I thoroughly enjoyed! 

"And an impressive display from IRE today especially from the debutants Connors & Keenan who were on form!!"