Ireland women's rugby team must learn how to 'maintain momentum' after USA defeat
WIN OR LEARN: Dorothy Wall of Ireland under pressure against USA at Tallaght Stadium. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
There is no panic in the Ireland camp after their defeat by the USA, with Gareth Steenson insisting the loss can instead become a catalyst for the next stage of their development.
Ireland will face Japan in their second WXV series game at Dexcom Park on Sunday, having taken plenty of encouragement from the Americans in which they scored six tries but surrendered a 19-point lead at Tallaght Stadium.
Steenson, the team's backs and attack coach, believes the lessons learned from that collapse will prove valuable. “If we’d have snuck a win there, would we be talking the same way we have been? Probably not,” he said.
“As much as it isn’t great that we’re sitting here talking off the back of a loss, the performance is going to be something that’s going to be a catalyst.
“It’s a learning curve. You have to live these sort of moments, and realistically with the girls, how many times have they actually lived in that space? How many times over the course of years have they been in a position where they’re points up? They’ve always been in an arm wrestle or chasing points down.”
Ireland made a fast start against the USA and were in control for much of the 50 minutes, leading 17-0 and later 31-12. But they struggled to maintain that momentum as the visitors fought their way back.
For Steenson, the issue centres on learning how to manage a game when in front.
“We talked about having a fast start, we got that,” he said. “Now, that doesn’t mean you have to keep scoring points, but it’s actually how do you keep momentum whenever it’s wrestled back.
“It’s in our control. That’s why I think this game is going to be really good for us because it puts us in a place where we can have conversations with the girls that we probably wouldn’t have had if we’d come out with the right result.”
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Ireland’s transition between attack and defence is another area they are seeking to improve, with Steenson stressing the importance of getting the basics right rather than forcing the game when holding a lead.
“The tendency is, and we’ve been guilty of this, that you get points up, you think you have to keep playing to get points up,” Steenson reflected.
“But ironically, if you just do the basics well, whether that’s with the ball or without the ball, playing in the right areas, what you tend to find is the opposition start trying to do things and make mistakes.”
Both Steenson and head coach Scott Bemand have spoken calmly about the defeat. Steenson acknowledges there was frustration and hurt when the squad regrouped on Monday, but says the key is channelling that emotion in the right direction.
"Now if we’re in that scenario again, I think now we’ll be better equipped for what we require at that time," he said.
“We’ve got another home game this weekend against a team that the last time we played in the World Cup it went well for us, but they’re going to be hurting as well after what happened to them in Italy.
“We’re at home, the conditions are probably going to play a certain way, which means we’ve got another opportunity to develop our game and talk about it in a different way.
“We have put a lot of time into being clear in what we want to go after, and there’s real clarity around how we want to approach the game, with and without the ball and with and without wind.
“We feel we’re equipped. We don’t expect it to be perfect. If we get the right sort of attitude around what we want to do, we can express ourselves in the best way possible.”
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