Dannah O’Brien ready to ‘rock it out’ in front of packed Twickenham

Ireland start their Six Nations campaign in London this weekend. 

Dannah O'Brien during an Ireland Women's Rugby squad training session at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin. Photo by Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile

Ireland head coach Scott Bemand has heralded out-half Dannah O’Brien as his team’s ‘Tom Brady’ as they face into a daunting Six Nations opener away to England’s world champions at a heaving Twickenham on Saturday.

A crowd of over 75,000 is expected to greet John Mitchell’s side as they play for the first time since sealing that global title late against Canada last year at the same venue, and the hosts have named a strong, star-studded side for the occasion.

Bemand has taken the same approach as the visitors look to improve on an 88-10 loss at the London venue in 2024. The input of their maturing No.10 will be vital to their ambitions at the weekend and through the Championship in general.

“Dannah has done her growing up on the world stage, in front of the cameras,” said Bemand. “You've seen the best of her, you've seen the tough bits. She's got a great character. Great character.

“She's becoming the QB, the Tom Brady, the quarterback. Games of rugby aren’t all on your terms. There's moments that you have to survive, and there's moments when you need to thrive. Dannah has been doing a great amount of work, both through the Celtic Challenge and in our training.

“She's developing this aura around her now. People look to her, what she’s doing. One word off we go, we do it. She can execute the plan under more and more pressure.” 

O’Brien made her Test debut against Japan as a teenager in 2022. Still only 22, but with 30 caps behind her, she has been at the helm for a WXV1 win against New Zealand, in the Six Nations, and for last year’s World Cup campaign.

“So two years ago, Dannah walking into Twickenham, the occasion was new, and we don't mind even talking about it: the occasion got to us. Now with this young group, with experience… She's done a World Cup, she's already been to Twickenham.

“She's already kicked goals. Like, she's done this. So now the QB gets to go to Twickenham and rock it out in front of a huge crowd and what's going to be an energising experience, not a daunting experience.” 

O’Brien will be supported by what is essentially the strongest XV available to Bemand right now. Sam Monaghan and Aoibheann Reilly are both injured, but expected back soon. Edel McMahon is sidelined for the season with a knee issue while Amee-Leigh Costigan is pregnant and out for the foreseeable.

On the flip side are returns for second row Dorothy Wall and new skipper and back row Erin King, both of whom missed last year’s World Cup campaign, while the exciting Vicky Elmes Kinlan comes in to an otherwise settled backline.

There are prospective debuts off the bench for tighthead Eilis Cahill of UL Bohemians and Old Belvedere scrum-half Katie Whelan, but Saturday is a day when the more experienced players will be needed front and centre.

Stacey Flood among them. The versatile nature of the Dubliner’s talents was highlighted last summer when a Sky Sports panel chose her at No.10 in a predicted starting XV for the historic first ever women's British and Irish Lions touring team next year.

“Stacey has the ability to run, hold her feet, crisp handling on the edge, to free up your wingers under pressure,” said Bemand. “That is best brought to life at full-back, but she can cover 10, she can cover 12. She's a good, good player.

“The challenge for some of our group… You mentioned a Lions tour in ’27, this competition will probably be the first chance for players to get on a radar of coaches that are looking, and we know what Stacey's done on the sevens scene.” Reintegrating to 15s from sevens isn’t straightforward. Bemand touched on how the player has had to relearn this form of the game and all the pressure and physicality that comes with that. Like O’Brien, there has been some good and some so-so.

“What we're seeing now is more [good] moments and less of the challenging bits, and so she's become a really big and important player for us. She's got a great character. I want her to touch the ball as much as she possibly can.

“She facilitates that role in terms of that second playmaker and how we can bring the edges to life.”