Ireland still have a 'long way to go' ahead of Italy's visit says Declan Danaher

LONG WAY TO GO: Ireland defence coach Declan Danaher has declared that the women’s national team still has a ‘long way to go’ after a gutsy opening Six Nations defeat away to France last week. Pic credit: Laszlo Geczo, Inpho.

Ireland defence coach Declan Danaher has declared that the women’s national team still has a ‘long way to go’ after a gutsy opening Six Nations defeat away to France last week..

The visitors ultimately went down 38-17 in Le Mans and there is clearly a need to balance the positivity in an improved effort from last year's wooden spoon with a realisation that a 21-point loss is not something to be celebrated.

“I'm only here six or seven weeks” said Danaher. “I've seen a massive step up from the first week I was here and getting to meet the girls. They were obviously out playing in the Celtic League, and getting them into camp.

“I can see the progress that's happening. You can see it at training, we want training to be incredibly competitive. We know if we can compete at training and drive the standards there you probably then start to see performances like you did at the weekend.

“You can see it as a glass half-full or a glass half-empty but there's still a long way to go. Isn't that the nice thing? You're not at the end, you can see that, and if it is, we continue to grow all of our game.

“It's not just about defence, if the attack comes better, it takes pressure off the attack and setpiece. It's all marrying up the different areas so that we get an all-round performance that you can put out at the weekend and you're proud of.”

Ireland will continue their Championship campaign against Italy at the RDS this Sunday. The Italians lost 48-0 to favourites England. Like their hosts this weekend, they defended stoutly for long periods before being overwhelmed by the World Cup finalists.

Co-captain Sam Monaghan, who missed the France game on the back of a concussion suffered playing for her club, is good to go and her input will be crucial in the second row given lineout struggles last Saturday.

Leinster second row Ruth Campbell, who played no part in the game against France, will be unavailable through injury for a couple of weeks but Danaher was able to confirm that new head coach Scott Bemand’s side have no other fitness issues ahead of the weekend.

Ireland have now lost their last eight Six Nations games, a run going back to round three of the 2022 Championship when they overcame the Azzurri 29-8 in Cork, and this is a crucial fixture with the side finishing third earning qualification for the next World Cup.