Ireland seeking overdue Six Nations away win even as they continue to grow
Dannah O'Brien, left, and Linda Djougang of Ireland during the Women's Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Ireland and France at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Ireland head coach Scott Bemand has stressed that his young and inexperienced team will continue to ‘do their growing up in the frontline’ as they chase a first Six Nations away from home since 2021 against Italy in Parma this Sunday.
The women’s side has made enormous strides since the former England assistant coach made the hop across the Irish Sea in late 2023, but the opening Championship loss to France in Belfast last week was typical of a team that is still finding its feet.
Ireland bossed large sections of the game in the second and third quarters but fell victim to a slow start and a faltering finish, as well as to a litany of simple errors that, put together, cost them what would have been a famous victory.
An eye-watering 31 handling errors were particularly expensive in the opening round but the kicking game was another area that fell short with errors from the boot from play and from dead balls ultimately playing such a large part in the loss.
France scored all three of their tries on the day on the back of balls that Ireland kicked out on the full. And out-half Dannah O’Brien couldn’t land any of her three conversions, two of which were more than kickable, especially for a player with her ability.
“First and foremost, people can have a bad day off the tee,” said Bemand. “That's a reality of where we are in our game. I'd really publicly back Dannah. You think of the conversations that we've had and continue to have, the positive notes that come from achieving World Cup qualification, WXV when she kicks those winning points against New Zealand.
“But you're still looking at somebody who's doing their growing up in the frontline here. She's got a wonderful boot. You watch her at training, either out of hand or off the tee, she's got an outstanding boot, so we back her and continue to back her. We've been growing our support in the space for kicking, both out of hand and goal-kicking.”
Former Ulster and Exeter Chiefs out-half Gareth Steenson is now working with O’Brien and other members of the backline on the kicking game and that’s just another cog on a management wheel that is really reaping dividends.
Alex Codling’s work with the lineout and the maul brought spectacular returns against the French and the team’s ability to keep fighting the good fight after going behind 14-0 in the first quarter spoke to their resilience.
They will continue to be without full-back Meabh Deely and wing Beibhinn Parsons until the back end of this Six Nations, but the hope is that they will have enough to beat Italy having left a win slip when the pair met at the RDS last year.
That, in itself, would be a sign of progress.
“Take a year ago, last year's Six Nations, we're not in a position… We're not almost emotionally ready to win a game you should have won,” said Bemand. “But there were shoots of performance out there that we could get behind.
“We're also not going to sit here and say we're young and inexperienced. We lost a game [against France] we should have won. Part of that learning is acknowledging that, being okay with that and reflecting on our game both individual and as a unit and how we get better.
“As I said afterwards, we don't want to be noble losers. We don't want to be in games and making people proud because we're in them. We actually believe we're in a position now where we should be good enough to execute some bits.”
