Ireland ready to bounce back against France, says Dalton

The sides face off on Sunday with a place in the last-four on the line.

Sat, 13 Sep, 2025 - 07:22

Andrew Baldock

Aoife Dalton believes Ireland are "in a really good place" ahead of the Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-final against France on Sunday.

As expected, Ireland have received a huge boost for the last-eight clash in Exeter with flanker Aoife Wafer returning to action.

Wafer, last season's Six Nations player of the championship, will line up alongside back-row colleagues Fiona Tuite and Brittany Hogan.

It will be Wafer's first appearance in the tournament after missing pool stage appointments with Japan, Spain and New Zealand while she continued her recovery from knee surgery.

Ireland face France on the back of a 40-0 loss to the Black Ferns as they target a first World Cup semi-final appearance for 11 years.

"I think as a group we’ve come through a lot together, and we've managed to bounce back from far bigger defeats than the one we had at the weekend," Dalton said.

"I feel we are in a really good place. We don’t really have time to sit around and feel sorry for ourselves. What happened at the weekend, we just have to switch our mind to France and focus on that now.

"I think we take the same attitude into every game. We've just taken it week by week from the first game (Japan) up until now.

"As soon as the game at the weekend was over, we just had to switch our minds to France.

"I wouldn't say there has been a change or anything in the atmosphere. We take every game as seriously as the other. Our plans were to get to this week, and we just can't wait."

Ireland have lost their last eight games against France, but they are only one place below them in the official world rankings and claimed Six Nations victories in 2009, 2013 and 2017.

History shows that Ireland are capable of bouncing back quickly from heavy defeats, and they are not immune from producing big performances when it matters, notably a stunning victory over New Zealand during last year's WXV1 competition.

And there appears no prospect of a hangover from the Black Ferns' loss, as Ireland now find themselves in a win-or-bust knockout rugby mindset.

Dalton added: "They (New Zealand) are a hugely physical side from one to 23. They never really let off in the game either.

"I think we prepared ourselves very well for that extreme physicality. We do a lot of work on the breakdown and how we can match that, so we are fine.

"I think France have threats all over the pitch, and they like to capitalise on playing high tempo.

"They are kind of really good players, with quick lineouts and ruck attack, so you just have to be switched on for every element of the game."

Dalton, whose centre partnership with Eve Higgins has flourished during the World Cup, is among seven players to start every game.

And that consistency of selection has again been highlighted by head coach Scott Bemand making just two changes from the New Zealand encounter.

Stacey Flood has shaken off a foot injury to continue at full-back, with Bemand naming the same back division that started against Japan and the Black Ferns.

Both switches are in the back-row, with Wafer replacing injured co-captain Edel McMahon and Tuite taking over from Grace Moore. Lock Sam Monaghan will skipper the side.

Moore is among the replacements, where her colleagues include prop Ellena Perry, who withdrew just before kick-off in the New Zealand game.

Ireland will go into the semi-final with a feelgood factor enhanced by an announcement of a first standalone women's Six Nations fixture at the Aviva Stadium next season.

The Irish Rugby Football Union revealed that Ireland's clash against Scotland on May 17 will have standalone status.

Ireland faced Italy at the Aviva in 2014, but that formed part of a Six Nations double-header alongside the men's national team.

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