SCOTT BEMAND’S INITIAL analysis of Ireland’s 14-40 victory over Wales went along predictable lines. While he started with an answer which could well have been written before the post-match press conference started, he quickly strayed into some perhaps more honest frustrations.

“Away from home, coming to a good crowd, there was noise out there on a good day, we’ve won a second on the bounce away from home,” said Bemand. “There’s bits of the performance out there we feel flat about, we’ve left a lot of points out there. I hoped to lay down a statement victory, there were probably 16, 18 minutes at the end there where we could have kicked on that could have been 50, 60.

“We’re a young group, there was a piece of occasion, handling playing a Wales group that are brilliantly Welsh. They were always going to make the breakdown hard and there were bits from us, we allowed that to happen. We asked the right questions early doors and weren’t able to convert those points but on the whole coming away and getting the second win probably carries the day.”

Those initial frustrations came from an opening quarter which saw plenty of Irish attacking endeavour but no resulting scores. By contrast, Wales pounced with an opportunistic try.

Ireland’s back three were sensational in that first half. Anna McGann looked a regular running threat, albeit you would have liked to see her take on the defender on the outside, instead of taking the safer option of cutting back . Stacey Flood’s kick return was even better. Live stats always come with a caveat – they could change in the countback – but she made 145 metres, the majority of those coming in the first 40.

Once final passes started sticking and tries came easier, Ireland tightened up after half-time. The maul was key to all three second half scores, Bemand’s side happy to strangle the life out of Wales – especially when down to 14 with Dannah O’Brien in the bin.

“We started to see where we were actually getting reward,” said captain Edel McMahon of the maul. “Credit to the girls getting us in the right position on the pitch and that was working. If it’s not broke, don’t fix.”

“The flyhallf goes off, it’s a very clever way of controlling the tempo of the game,” added Bemand. “Once we came out of that, the maul got its wheels turning and it allows us to control what was quite a tough breakdown scenario with the Welsh going in and creating slower ball for us.”

Despite Flood’s first half excellence, the carrying dominance of Aoife Wafer saw her named player of the match. Two tries, 129 metres made and six defenders beaten, she continues to “draw headlines”, as Bemand acknowledges.

“She’s going to be a really good player. We want to keep growing her so she can go on and be a generational talent.”