IT’S NO TIME FOR TIERS OR WALES OF ANGUISH

Ireland v Wales, today 2pm

THE lessons will be absorbed in time, but right now Tom Tierney wants Ireland to sign off from an “intense” World Cup with a win.

There is much soul-searching to be done once it’s over but right now, his team will try to salvage something from the wreckage in today’s low-key finish against Wales.

A seventh-place play-off doesn’t sound important but the Irish girls need to win to ensure automatic qualification for the 2021 World Cup.

“It’s a winner takes all situation and we have a duty of care to make sure we finish on a high, get a performance and secure that seventh spot. It’s not going to be easy, but hopefully we can do it and then kind of draw a line under it and move on from the World Cup.

“We’ll need a break after this.

“It’s been quite intense for us as a group and for me individually as a head coach.”

Making sure Ireland are represented at the next World Cup gives them something real to fight for.

Tierney has no issue with the flak he’s received for his part in the collective failure of Ireland’s World Cup.

The ex-ireland scrum-half has learned how to deal with it over the years but for his players it was a level of scrutiny they are unused to.

“At the end of the day we’re in the High Performance Unit of the IRFU so we’re all accountable for our actions, both management and players, and that’s exactly what the women’s game has wanted in Ireland.

“We’ve got that now, we’ve just got to be able to handle it.” IRELAND (v Wales): H Tyrrell; E Considine, K Fitzhenry, J Deacon, A Miller; N Stapleton, N Cronin; L Peat, C Moloney, A Egan; C Cooney, ML Reilly; P Fitzpatrick, C Griffin, H O’reilly.

GUTTED Tom Tierney speaks to his team after loss to Australia