Bemand aims to build confidence in Ireland set-up

IT’S the beginning of a new journey so there was plenty of talk of ‘a fresh start’ as Ireland women’s head coach Scott Bemand named the first side of his reign yesterday. He insists that the upcoming WXV3 campaign, which starts against Kazakhstan in Dubai tomorrow, is a chance to ‘get the plane off the runway’ as the team go in pursuit of qualification for the 2025 World Cup in England. It’s a sign of how far Ireland have fallen in recent seasons that Bemand’s first match in charge will be against such unheralded Lerading the line: Ireland’s Sam Monaghan is joint captain opponents in the third — and lowest — tier of world rugby’s new competition. Over the past couple of years, two head coaches, Adam Griggs and Greg McWilliams, have lost their jobs while two captains, Ciara Griffin and Nichola Fryday, have retired from the international game while still in their twenties. As Ireland begin the long road towards the 2025 World Cup, Bemand has named two joint captains in Edel McMahon and Sam Monaghan to replace Fryday. Ireland’s dismal Six Nations campaign, where they finished bottom after losing every game, saw the side go into WXV3, where they will face Kazkahstan, Spain and Colombia in the coming weeks. The first priority for Bemand, who spent eight seasons working with the allconquering England side as attack coach, is to ensure that the players rediscover that winning feeling and improve morale. ‘I think in any elite environment, results can potentially become habitual,’ the former Bath and Harlequins scrum-half remarked on Ireland’s losing streak. ‘But from what I have seen in camp, and we spent some time together before coming out to Dubai, the girls are getting more confident and it will be good to get some games in, to see them in a test arena and to build more confidence.’ Bemand has named an experienced side and is boosted by the return of Sevens pair Béibhínn Parsons and Eve Higgins to the starting line-up for the first time since April of last year and they are part of an exciting backline that also includes Natasja Behan, Meabh Deely and Aoife Dalton while three uncapped players are named on the bench — Sarah Delaney, Megan Collis and Éimear Corri. The new head coach says that the ultimate endpoint for this

journey is qualification for the World Cup in 2025 – Ireland infamously missed out on the last tournament in New Zealand. Finishing third in next year’s Six Nations, where Ireland will play Wales, Scotland and Italy at home, will see them achieve that aim. ‘The key performance goal for us at the end of next year is qualifying for England 2025, so if you start there and work backwards, we need to put ourselves in a position where we can confidently deliver performances in the Six Nations that will lead to that World Cup qualification. This is a fresh start, but there are certainly some things we need to put in place before that, key components. ‘We know what we think our identity will become, we are putting in steps towards that, and hopefully, that will become obvious in the coming weeks in the test arena,’ added Bemand. The match will be streamed live on RugbyPassTV, where viewers can register for free to watch all the WXV action. IRELAND WOMEN (v Kazakhstan, WXV3, Dubai, tomorrow 4.30pm Irish time): M Deely, N Behan, E Higgins, A Dalton, B Parsons, D O’Brien, M Scuffil-McCabe; L Djougang, N Jones, C Haney, D Wall, S Monaghan, G Moore, E McMahon, B Hogan. Reps: S Delaney, S McGrath, M Collis, E Corri, M Óg O’Leary, A Reilly, N Fowley, L Tarpey.