Tom Tierney: Ireland up for ‘toughest’ World Cup pool

Ireland are drawn in what coach Tom Tierney says “is arguably the toughest qualifying pool of all” for next year’s Women’s World Cup in Dublin and Belfast in August.

At an impressive ceremony in Belfast’s City Hall yesterday, the hosts found themselves in a Pool C which includes France, Australia, and one other of Hong Kong, Japan or Fiji.

Holders, England, will be grateful for a straightforward route to the knockout stages with Italy and the USA – the surprise packets of 2014 – and either Scotland or Spain completing Pool B.

Canada, runners-up three years ago, will be tested in Pool A by New Zealand, Wales and the runners-up from the round-robin play-offs involving Hong Kong, Japan and Fiji being played next month.

“It’s a tough pool, but you realise they are all going to be difficult when you have the best teams in the world involved and when you realise the growth of the women’s game in terms of numbers and in quality is so great,” said Tierney, former Ireland and Munster scrum-half.

“But it’s been something we’ve been looking forward to, building towards, and as hosts we hope we can prepare well, get the rugby public behind us for the qualifying games in Dublin and then for the decisive stages in Belfast.”

All the qualifying pool games will be played at UCD, with the opening round of six games from Wednesday, August 9 next, running through to the final on Saturday, August 26 at Belfast’s Kingspan Stadium. Kingspan Stadium will also host the two semi-finals.

Tierney was in relaxed mood as the draw was made by Women’s Rugby World Cup chairman Bill Beaumont, former England forward, Maggie Alphonsi, competition ambassador, former Irish star Fiona Coghlan, and Mary Peters, the 1972 Olympic Pentathlon champion.

Tierney, who’s been in charge for almost two years, said the Irish side’s surge to the last four in France in 2014 set a benchmark in terms of performance and results, and he was confident his expanded squad offered genuine hope the hosts could make a huge impact.

“Obviously we know the French pretty well from the Six Nations, and they’ll be physically hard and strong, while Australia is more and more a power in the full format of the game after years of success at sevens.”

He was delighted this November he and his players will have a full series of autumn internationals to maintain levels of performance and to experience the high attrition of Test rugby.

“This November series, starting against England this Sunday in Dublin, is critical. . Yes, we want results but what I’m primarily focused on is maintaining improvements in skills and stiffening that competitive edge.

“We then have Canada, and then New Zealand, so it’s going to be a high-class platform for players to put their hands up and for us as a management and coaching team to look at getting the balance right in the side.

“We have some really experienced players, and we’d like to think they’ll maintain their form and pose a challenge to the younger generation coming through fast,” said Tierney.

Tierney’s proven tactical nous will be tested to the full over the next year, and with a full autumn schedule and then the much-anticipated assault on a repeat of the Six Nations ‘Grand Slam’ two years ago, he has a significant range of targets, though he’s convinced he has the resources to consolidate Ireland in the elite tier of Women’s Rugby.

“We have around 50 players we can say are in credible contention for the team, some are well-established in the 15-player format, and many others are impressing in Sevens, while my coaching team and I are always looking closely at the club scene and we’ve drawn some fine talents into our panels.

“Today has been about the 2017 World Cup here in Ireland, and that’s exciting I can tell you, and on the training ground, in all our matches we’ll be looking at exactly what we can put out on the pitch to be not just competitive but winning.

“Greater strength in depth allows us to look at different combinations, and we’ll do that without jeopardising the strong elements we already have, but by August next, we’ll get the fans behind a team brimming with confidence based on hard work and talent, and we’ll get that balance all over the pitch which we’ll need to take on the rest of the world,” said Tierney.

He said he genuinely did not fear any of the sides in the three World Cup Pools, but he recognised the traditional strengths of teams like England, the reigning champions, and of France.