Matildas stars kick back on boat trip after Australia got their World Cup campaign off to a strong start with win over Ireland

The Matildas took to the seas for a well-earned day off after getting their World Cup campaign off to a flyer. 

Australia were scheduled to have a training session on Saturday, to be followed by media interviews at their training base at QSAC, but coach Tony Gustavsson altered plans to award his stars a full day off. 

The team flew back from Sydney on Thursday night following their 1-0 win against Ireland at Stadium Australia, with Friday spent recovering from the gruelling effort shown by the players.  

Some players posted footage of their day trip to social media, with Kyra Cooney-Cross, Teagan Micah, Katrina Gorry, Charli Grant and Hayley Raso all on the boat, which appeared to be in Moreton Bay.

Meanwhile, other players spent time catching up with friends, with keeper Mackenzie Arnold enjoying a coffee close to the team’s hotel in South Bank, Brisbane. 

The Matildas stars relaxed with a boat trip on their day off following their World Cup win

Katrina Gorry and Hayley Raso were among a number of stars enjoying the sun on Saturday

The Matildas are expected to be back in training on Sunday. 

The team will be without superstar forward Sam Kerr for their second group match against Nigeria on Thursday, after the Chelsea gun injured her calf on the eve of the tournament.

Kerr, 29, insists she will be back for the final group game against Canada on Monday 31 July, but young gun Mary Fowler insists she can help fill the void left by her teammate. 

Fowler and strike partner Caitlyn Foord both had dynamic moments against a deep-lying, packed Ireland defence on Thursday night, as did wingers Hayley Raso and Cortnee Vine.

‘I feel ready and everyone else feels ready,’ Fowler told reporters after the Ireland match.

‘So whoever’s out there, you know what you need to do when you get out there – you just play.

‘Every team is going to be a bit different, every opponent.

The Matildas take on Nigeria in their second group game on Thursday night

‘But we take it one match at a time and go into training and watch this game and see what we can do better.’

An intelligent, technical attacker who plays beyond her years, 20-year-old Fowler is confident she can make the partnership with Foord work.

‘Cait’s an amazing player. So she makes it easy to play with,’ Fowler said.

‘But yeah, I think with time you just get more and more used to each other.

‘But when someone’s got a football brain, it’s easy to work with.’