Up for the challenge
Flying wing Parsons can inspire Ireland to positive, battling display as they tackle classy France
ANOTHER year, another fresh start. And yet another rebuild. After years of turbulence, on and off the field, there is renewed hope that the Ireland women’s team can finally turn the corner and become a real force again on the pitch.
This opening assignment doesn’t get any tougher against a star-studded French team on their home turf.
But the only way is up after last season’s truly miserable campaign, a championship which saw Ireland finish with the Wooden Spoon for the first time since 2004.
There have been many low points for the women’s game in this country in recent times, but the 2023 Six Nations was especially grim. Not only did Ireland fail to land a single win, they didn’t secure a single point throughout 400+ minutes of Six Nations action.
The fallout from that tournament was seismic. Nichola Fryday stood down from the captaincy and announced her shock international retirement at the age of 28. Head coach Greg McWilliams moved on.
Suffice to say, everyone involved wanted to park what transpired and move on, quickly.
It is fair to say that the IRFU haven’t covered themselves in glory in the past when it comes to resourcing this team. The appointment of Scott Bemand as head coach was a real coup, however. The former Leicester Tigers and Bath scrum-half was in the world class England setup for a long time and is a highlyrated operator.
Declan Danagher was also drafted in as a specialist defence coach to bring some order to a team which conceded 31 tries in last year’s championship.
The early signs have been good. The WXV3 victory was a decent start. The level of opposition – featuring Colombia and Kazakhstan – was decidedly average but it allowed Bemand to bed in some of his ideas and, crucially, inject some confidence back into a playing group which was at a low ebb.
Expectations are realistic heading into this tournament. This group are aware that they are miles off the likes of France and England, two heavyweights of the global game.
They will be up against it in Le Mans this afternoon. The French are laced with world-class talent, from veteran lock Madoussou Fall to brilliant No8 Romane Menager, with full-back Emilie Boulard bringing no shortage of vim and verve.
Do Ireland have players in the same class at the moment? No, is the blunt answer. Victory is unlikely today. A battling display, plenty of defensive grit and a bit more enterprise in attack would be big steps forward. You have to go ball the way back to Donnybrook in 2017 for Ireland’s last triumph in this fixture.
The scale of the challenge became even more daunting when Sam Monaghan was ruled out with a concussion issue earlier this week. The Ireland lock is a real talisman in this pack and she will be sorely missed in France. Add in the fact that Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird has been ruled out of the tournament with injury and Fryday’s retirement and the Irish pack are shorn of their three best forwards.
Saying all that, there are grounds for optimism. Linda Djougang is still on board in the front row, as is livewire hooker Neve Jones. Dorothy Wall and Hannah O’Connor will provide plenty of power in the second row while the back-row trio of Aoife Wafer, skipper Edel McMahon and Brittany Hogan is mobile and punchy.
Then there’s the return of some of the Sevens stars. That contingent were sorely missed last season when chasing Olympic qualification was prioritised over the Six Nations. And the national team were the poorer for their absence.
The electric Béibhinn Parsons, Eve Higgins and Aoibheann Reilly are back on board. Reilly will provide some spark at scrum-half while Higgins is a classy midfielder with superb acceleration and footwork.
Parsons, however, is a generational talent who can terrorise opposition defences. The Ballinasloe native famously burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old but she hasn’t started a 15s game for her country since April 2021. No doubt, her presence on the team sheet has the French worried.
‘Béibhinn, for me, she can be one of the great wingers in world rugby,’ Ireland forwards coach John McKee boldly stated earlier this week. Ireland will need some Parsons magic at times, especially with Nicole Fowley making her first start at out-half since 2019 and 18-year-old Katie Corrigan starting her first game on the wing.
It will be fascinating to see how Bemand’s side fare today. Here’s hoping this latest rebuild leads to something positive.
Irish pack has been shorn of its three best forwards