Scott Bemand: Ireland now a different team to the one England hit for 88 points

Ireland face England in the Six Nations at Virgin Media Park in Cork on Saturday. 

"We're a better team than we were," said Scott Bemand about this Ireland side compared to the one which lost to England by 78 points last year.  Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Ireland head coach Scott Bemand has declared that the team that faces England in Saturday’s Women’s Six Nations in Cork is a very different collective to the version that lost 88-10 when the sides met in Twickenham 12 months ago.

Ireland went into that with a modicum of momentum behind them having shown clear signs of rebirth in defeats to France and Italy and then a 36-5 win over Wales but they shipped 14 tries to the tournament’s giants in London in front of a crowd of just under 49,000.

England are still England, but Ireland have kicked on again.

Beating New Zealand’s world champions in the WXV1s tournament in Canada late last year was a result that made the entire game sit up and take notice and they were disappointed not to beat a strong French side in Belfast last month.

“We have spoken around last year, and around the performance and the occasion, but we're not playing that occasion now,” said Bemand. “We're not playing that team now. We're a better team than we were.

"We've got plenty of bits from us we can focus on and plenty of bits that we think we can get some advantage over them. There's no perfect rugby team in the world, and the Red Roses are no different. We think we can get some pressure on them.

“Last year we managed to get a scrum penalty and win a maul in their 22 and get a penalty try. We know we can get pressure on them. We know there's a challenge to stand up to and, if we can get enough of those moments, we can keep the score ticking.” 

Clinging on to the one try they scored that day in London is a slim enough reason for hope this week. Or it would be if there was nothing else to back it up. There is no doubt but that Ireland should be far more competitive this time around.

Ticket sales for the Musgrave Park game have been strong and the squad’s injury profile remains decent on the back of a down week last week, although Beibhinn Parsons still isn’t fit enough to make a claim for a run on the wing.

The squad has spoken internally and publicly about closing the chasm of a gap between them and twin towers of England and France and that process is all the more important now that the side is just months out from the next World Cup.

“We believe we are further down the road than we were a year ago, and we think we can fire some shots this weekend,” said Bemand. “If we're in the game, and we get our wheels starting to turn, we think we can cause some problems.”