Getting a victory is all that matters for Irish
MAKE no mistake, this is a season-defining game for Greg McWilliams and this Ireland squad. Losses to France and Wales in the first two rounds mean this squad is rooted to the bottom of the table on zero points, just above this evening’s opponents Italy in that championship table.
This Irish side should get off the mark and secure their first win of this Six Nations in Musgrave Park. This is the first time a women’s international has been played in the Cork venue, with at least 5,000 supporters set to arrive through the turnstiles. That will be a big help for a team in transition and lacking a bit of confidence.
There is a acceptance that this group needs time to develop. The women’s game, from grassroots all the way up to the green shirt, has been operating off a low base for a while. This rebuild under McWilliams’ watch is in its infancy.
Still, you feel that Ireland need a win here, especially against a country they have beaten in 16 of their previous 18 meetings. Lose today and the final two rounds look precarious. England await in the fourth round, with their professionals and world-class structures. They stuck 74 unanswered points on Italy last weekend. Back in November they beat New Zealand by an aggregate score of 99-27 across two games.
The Scots are nowhere near that level, but factor in that the stardust in this squad will be missing for the final two rounds ahead of a pivotal leg of the World Sevens series in Canada. It means that the likes of Beibhinn Parsons, belatedly recalled to the starting line-up this week, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Lucy Mulhall and Stacey Flood are unavailable for Six Nations action.
So, this feels like a pivotal game. A Wooden Spoon would be a hammer blow to this group. It is admirable what they are trying to achieve and there have been glimpses of attacking brilliance in this tournament thus far, from the superb offloading of lock Sam Monaghan to the broken-field running of centre Eve Higgins. The problem is that the moments of cohesion and invention have been few and far between. There has been no shortage of handling errors (a whopping 27 in the defeat to France), inaccuracy and defensive naivety. Things like that erode team morale.
The presence of Parsons will give them confidence, however. It’s hard to believe that the Ballinasloe star is still only 20 and has just 17 caps to her name. Parsons was phenomenal against the Azzurri in that do-or-die World Cup qualifier in Parma last year. The memory of the Ireland wing beating seven defenders on one slaloming counter-attack remains vivid. Along with the electric Murphy Crowe and Mulhall, who shifts to full-back, it’s a back three that is born to run.
Those changes mean Eimear Considine drops out of the matchday 23, the Limerick native seemingly paying the price for some sloppy defence in Toulouse. The Ireland full-back was the most experienced player in this group. It’s a big statement from the head coach.
That’s not the only big shake-up. Kathryn Dane comes in for Aoibheann Reilly at scrum-half. Unsurprisingly, there is a change at tighthead after the scrum struggles against the French, with Christy Haney starting her first Test ahead of Katie O’Dwyer. Hannah O’Connor is rewarded for a strong second-half cameo last time out with a start at No8 as Brittany Hogan drops to the bench.
Whatever about the personnel changes, this squad needs to shore up their malfunctioning set-piece, cut down their unforced errors and tighten up their discipline. None of those are easy fixes, especially for this largely amateur crew with limited training windows.
It was a point not lost on McWilliams earlier this week. It’s all well and good trying to instil this attacking brand of rugby but, without a solid platform and accuracy in their passing game, it will never come to fruition.
‘Everyone’s pretty aware that our set-piece isn’t good enough yet. You’ve got to own that and we’re doing our best to make sure that’s better this week,’ said the Ireland boss.
‘We’ve worked hard and been pretty disciplined in what we’re trying to do and just hope we put on a show with less errors because, in this game, if you can maintain territory and keep your errors down, you have a better chance of winning.
‘It’s going to be a competitive match, it’s a good Italian side. They play with good width, they’ve got a good offloading game and they’re aggressive.
‘It’s going to be tough for us but our goal is to get a win this weekend and it’s for the players. They deserve it for the effort they’re putting in and that’s their goal.’
Talk of development, investment and long-term strategies can wait for now. A win on Leeside is all that matters this evening.