Ireland ‘won’t get carried away’ after first 6N win in two seasons
Aoife Wafer of Ireland makes a break during the Six Nations match against Wales at Virgin Media Park in Cork. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Turning around after a significant victory such as Ireland’s on Saturday and into the most difficult challenge of the 2024 Guinness Women’s Six Nations could be, maybe should be, daunting.
Yet for Scott Bemand’s squad, as they turn their attentions towards all-conquering England at Twickenham this Saturday, there is plenty of well-grounded positivity that should not be derailed by the size of their next challenge.
The weight lifted from Irish shoulders in Cork as Wales were put to the sword with a clinical five-try performance that delivered a first Six Nations victory in two seasons and with it has now put last season’s winless wooden spoon firmly behind a young group of players whose focus is only forward facing.
Bemand, the former England backs coach who was last summer tasked by the IRFU with rebuilding the women’s XVs following that last-placed finish, was quick to temper any misplaced expectations of instant world domination.
Not that the post-match celebrations of players and supporters alike were undeserved but the head coach knows that as meaningful as this first championship win on his watch is, there is plenty of road left to travel before Ireland can say they have reached their final destination.
“We can’t get too carried away with it, it’s the next step,” Bemand said after watching a dominant Irish performance over a Wales side two places above them at number eight in the World Rugby Rankings.
"We'll go after our own performance (against England). If that's good enough to get a win, then that's something we'll absolutely go after.
“England are in a space where their programme is mature. They've been professional players for a good while and they've a few threats with a bit of depth in behind it. We'll go there and get excited about playing in front of a big crowd.
“We talk about being a young team, part of building experience is getting used to going out there, playing in these big stadiums that are nearly full. We're going to have to handle the environment as much as who we're playing.
"There's a bunch of experience we're going to get out of this. We'll just put our best performance out there, go fire some shots and see what a result looks like at the end of that."
Ireland will undoubtedly travel to Twickenham with confidence enhanced following a performance full of both attacking intent and defensive resilience, limiting a powerful Wales side to just one second-half try, replacement back-rower Gwennan Hopkins finally getting her side off the mark in the 65th minute when Ireland were already five tries up and victory was assured.
Ireland had this game sewn up just after half-time, steered by fly-half Dannah O’Brien, whose astute tactical kicking had kept team on the front foot and negated the sort of Welsh firepower that had seen the 2023 meeting of these two sides end in a 31-5 home win at Cardiff Arms Park.
Lesson had also been learned from the 27-21 round-two loss to Italy as Ireland failed to execute the numerous try-scoring opportunities they had created at the RDS.
A fortnight on, and with a well-utilised down week coming to fruition, they were ruthless and clinical in attack. Player of the match Aoife Wafer signalled her potential in the Ireland back row with a powerhouse performance typified by her strong carry and finish of an excellent team move for the opening try on 13 minutes.
Centre Eve Higgins was similarly efficient from close range six minutes later and when hooker Neve Jones touched down a dominant lineout drive after 25 minutes, Ireland were in the driving seat with O’Brien’s three conversions delivering a 21-0 half-time lead.
The bonus-point try came quickly after the interval, teenage wing Katie Corrigan for the second match in row showing her tenacity and eye for a chance. The 18-year-old, who had debuted in the opening-round loss to France, scored an intercept try against the Italians and against Wales she charged down fly-half Lleucu George’s kick inside the 22, collected the ball and ran it under the posts. The conversion from O’Brien made it 28-0 with the second half just a minute old.
Bemand was delighted when O’Brien took the points to secure a winning position as the fly-half added a penalty seven minutes later before left wing Beibhinn Parsons completed the Irish scoring with a fifth just before the hour mark.
O’Brien said the team had made the most of their extra training week between rounds two and three.
“We had an honest review after the Italian game,” the number 10 said. “There was lots to work on and we came together through training and drove each other and I’m proud of the girls today, we had each other’s back all the way through.”
The head coach was equally delighted with his team’s all-round performance and growing assuredness in its decision-making, with both Wafer and O’Brien still only 21 but both playing influential parts in the victory.
Asked if Wafer was already standing out as a potential tourist for the inaugural British & Irish Lions Women’s tour to New Zealand in 2027, Bemand said: “She’s got to be hasn’t she?
“It’s still a long way out but along with Dannah, these girls are relatively inexperienced, still young. They’re mopping up everything in training in terms of information and how to play. Every time they experience something different, whether it be in training or in a game, you’re seeing them adapt and tweak and keep moving their game forward.
“Look, the world’s her oyster. We’ve just to keep training with the intensity that Dannah’s just mentioned and keep trying to add layers of these experiences.”
L Delany; K Corrigan, E Higgins, E Breen (A Dalton, 55), B Parsons; D O’Brien, A Reilly (M Scuffil-McCabe, 55); L Djougang (N O’Dowd, 62), N Jones (C Moloney, 52), C Haney (S McGrath, 62); D Wall, S Monaghan – co-captain (F Tuite, 49); A Wafer, E McMahon – co-captain (N Fowley, 65), B Hogan (S Ikahihifo, 58).
J Hesketh; J Joyce; H Jones – captain, K Lake (C Keight, 33), C Cox; L George (K Powell, 61), K Bevan (S Jones, 52); G Pyrs (A Constable, 60), C Phillips (M Reardon, 52), S Tuipulotu (D Rose, 60); A Fleming (G Hopkins, 61), G Evans; A Butchers, A Callender, B Lewis (N John, 28).
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