Black Ferns win feeding Irish belief ahead of World Cup showdown
Eimear Corri-Fallon during Ireland training at the University of Sussex, Brighton. Pic: INPHO/Ben Brady
It should go without saying that not every Irish player on World Cup duty in England right now got to be a part of the side that pulled off that famous shock win against New Zealand in Vancouver last autumn.
Nancy McGillivray was still under a development contract with the RFU, Ellena Perry was still just a one-tie Red Rose, and Eimear Corri-Fallon was out injured and only walking in the door from work when the game got underway at BC Place stadium.
“It was obviously disappointing to not be involved in it, and having been involved in WXV3 the previous year and in the Six Nations that got the girls up into WXV1,” said the Portlaoise forward who returned to fitness this summer, “but hugely proud and so delighted to be able to support a performance like that.
“I could see things that we put in progress three years prior to that as well. So just hugely proud of the group and how much we've really grasped onto the green wave and pushing ourselves on, really wanting to put in our best performances and our best Irish performances as well.”
All told, 17 of the squad on duty at this tournament – just over half – featured in that 29-27 defeat of the world champions in a WXV1 tournament that many feared would prove to be too steep a climb for a side that seemed to be still negotiating the foothills of its recovery on the back of a traumatic few seasons.
That leaves 15 players that played no direct part in that seminal game, but the beauty of that result and the subsequent performance in defeat against Canada is the bump it gave to everyone in and around the wider squad at a time when new head coach Scott Bemand was building depth and purpose back into the group.
The impact of beating the Black Ferns can’t be overstated. Corri-Fallon has no background in sevens so she never came up against a New Zealand side in the way that someone like Emily Lane has in the game’s shorter form. But she can draw inspiration from that win eleven months ago.
“Yeah, definitely. The girls have been talking about their experiences all throughout the week, and it's important for the girls that weren’t there that they could share those experiences. And that's the thing.
“We've come into this World Cup where we only had one person that had played in it before, so it's all about sharing those experiences with the wider group. I could buy into talking about setpieces and launches that the girls have experience using against New Zealand.
“I'm just completely feeding off that and what they felt to give me that insider information.” Ireland lived on their wits at times in that game. And on scraps at others. They mined rich returns from rare visits to the opposition, whereas the Black Ferns were kept at bay time and again in the Irish 22.
It’s hard to see Ireland pulling through in the same manner again. The suspicion is that they will need more ball and that they will need to do more again with that ball when they get it. But then getting it will be a job in and of itself.
The scrum has been 100% successful so far but Japan and Spain are no markers for what’s to come. The lineout returned a similar figure last time out against the Spanish having malfunctioned four times early on against Japan.
A repeat can’t happen in Brighton on Sunday.
“As forwards we take a lot of pride in our setpiece, and we know that it's a great launcher for us. If we can be dominant in those areas we have such pace out wide and in the middle of the pitch as well.
"The try we scored off that maul just goes to show how effective we can be,” said Corri-Fallon, an option in that second row. “So it definitely is an area that we're proud of and that we're delighted to get that 100% success rate.” Corri-Fallon spoke about “not being overwhelmed by the occasion” and an occasion is exactly what they expect come Sunday when Brighton & Hove Albion’s Premier League ground will be close to full and green rather than blue will be the dominant colour.
There is a very obvious understanding from inside the camp that this is an opportunity to showcase the best of Irish women’s rugby three years after they were absent from the entire stage down in New Zealand.
“These are days we've all trained for. So much work has gone into preparation for making the squad and this World Cup.
“We're used to taking it game by game, but now that we're here, now that we know it’s to sell out, we know so many Irish people are coming, we're so looking forward to getting going.”
