Scots unlikely to spoil double delight for Irish
By the time Ireland face Scotland in the final game of the Women’s RBS Six Nations championship they will know exactly what is required to secure the title for the second time in three years.
A win for England against France today means victory against the Scots will suffice. But should France beat the world champions then Tom Tierney’s side will need to better any winning margin by at least 20 points to claim the Championship. Success by an margin will also secure the Triple Crown.
Scotland have been talking about progress but progress in this case is in a very relative sense and though they scored 13 points away to England last time out, which represented some improvement and more than doubled their points scored total, they still lost by 29 and have conceded 154 in four matches.
Ireland centre Jenny Murphy, unsurprisingly, tried to talk Scotland up during the week but as well as their record in this tournament their form against Ireland in recent times is abysmal and included a 59-0 defeat last year.
It’s over four years since Ireland last conceded a try against this weekend’s opponents.
“In the early stages of the competition teams did rack up high scores against them,” Murphy said. “But their loss to England last week was closer and they managed to get some scores on the board.
“We just have to focus on our game. They are still a threat, they are an international team after all so we can’t under-estimate what they are capable of doing.”
If the maths this weekend are straightforward the formula that gives Ireland the chance to claim just their second ever Six Nations title was devised late last year.
The increasing profile of the women’s game in this country was further signposted with the full-time appointments made last December after Philip Doyle stood down having guided Ireland to a momentous win over New Zealand and fourth place at the World Cup.
Former Ireland international scrum-half Tierney was appointed head coach with Anthony Eddy, who coached Worcester in the English Premiership, brought in as director of women’s rugby. As in men’s rugby, physical preparation has taken on greater significance in the women’s game, too, with Marian Earls appointed as head of strength and conditioning.
Although Tierney’s side lost to France they gained a measure of revenge for last year’s World Cup semi-final defeat by beating England in their next outing.
If this was initially seen as a season of transition after a number of significant retirements after the World Cup, including former captain Fiona Coghlan, then that result in particular recalibrated expectations and Murphy isn’t placing a ceiling on the side’s or the sport’s potential.
“I think the sky’s the limit with women’s rugby. It’s one of the fastest growing sports in the world and is growing massively with Ireland too.
“We are getting faster and stronger; that means it is getting more exciting. All the teams. That has made for an exciting Six Nations and more people wanting to come out and watch.
“We knew it was going to be tough but at the same time, we still had the core belief of ‘why not?’
“It’s the same for every team after a World Cup. Everyone goes through a transition and we were no different. This is a great chance to do really well this year.
“It’s fantastic to win a Six Nations title regardless of where you are in the World Cup cycle.”
N Briggs (UL Bohemian/ Munster) (Capt); H Tyrrell (Old Belvedere/ Leinster), J Murphy (Old Belvedere/ Leinster), J Shiels (Richmond/ Exiles), A Miller (Portlaoise/Connacht); N Stapleton (Old Belvedere/ Leinster), L Muldoon (Skewen RFC); R O’Reilly (Galwegians/ Connacht), G Bourke (Olympico de Pozuelo RFC), A Egan (Old Belvedere/ Leinster); S Spence (Old Belvedere/ Leinster), ML Reilly (Old Belvedere/ Leinster); P Fitzpatrick (St Marys/ Leinster), C Molloy (Bristol/ Connacht), H O’Brien (Highfield/ Munster).
S Mimnagh (Wasps/Exiles), F Hayes (UL Bohemian/ Munster), F O’Brien (Old Belvedere/ Leinster), O Fitzsimons (St Marys/ Leinster), K Norris (Blackrock / Leinster), T Rosser (Blackrock/ Leinster), S Naoupu (Galwegians/Connacht), A Doyle (Shannon/ Munster).
