'That matters for this group' - Bemand's delight as Ireland exorcise Parma demons

A last-gasp 20-18 defeat to Scotland at the same venue in a qualifying tournament for the 2022 Rugby World Cup was put to bed by Sunday's Six Nations win

STADIO SMILES: Ireland's Dorothy Wall and Aoife Dalton celebrate winning. Pic: INPHO/Tom Maher

By defeating Italy with 42 points to spare at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in the second round of the Six Nations Championship on Sunday, Scott Bemand believes the Ireland women’s rugby team managed to exorcise some demons of the past.

Back on September 25, 2021, Ireland suffered a last-gasp 20-18 defeat to Scotland at the same Parma venue in a qualifying tournament for the following year’s Rugby World Cup. Having already lost out to Spain in the first of three games in northern Italy – they did get the better of the Italians in between these losses – the Irish ultimately missed out on a place at the delayed 2022 edition of the RWC in New Zealand.