Ireland scramble for fixes ahead of French visit to Cork

McWilliams described a game that was levels above the physicality the Irish squad had dealt with in their previous games when on tour to Japan last summer and the French will probably pose an even stiffer test in that regards.

SCRAMBLE FOR FIXES: Greg McWilliam's has made five personnel changes to side for French game and targeting being more physical. Pic:©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

Seven days will separate Ireland’s Tik Tok Six Nations opener against Wales and tomorrow’s follow-up at home to France. It’s the blink of an eye at the best of times and this is very much not the best of times for the national women’s team.

Last week’s 31-5 loss in Cardiff was all the more traumatic for the variety of shortcomings it exposed in everything from the Irish system in terms of the women’s game to the number of individual performances that fell too far short.