IRELAND STAR DOROTHY Wall says winning the new third-tier global competition WXV was crucial for her side to heal the wounds of last year’s Six Nations disappointment.
After rallying from 10 points down, Ireland defeated Spain in Dubai last October to capture the inaugural WXV3 title, rounding off their campaign with a 100% record. It was an important result for Ireland after ending the Six Nations as wooden spoon recipients including a 48-0 thumping at the hands of England who went on to finish as five-in-a-row champions.
Wall, who has been playing more in the second row than back row of late, says it the WXV reignited a spark in the Ireland squad. The sweltering climate of the Middle East made it all the more challenging for the players.
“We needed to remember what it felt like to win. Against Spain, we kind of had to grind that out, because they were the hardest of the three teams to play against. It was a month away, the whole squad together.
“We learned a lot, we trained really hard, it was like 42 degrees over there. People passing out, ice baths everywhere, you are just trying to survive the conditions. It was really tough, but so rewarding as well, it was a great trip for us.”
Wall says that a “grieving period” was required after the 2023 Six Nations. She leaned on friends and family to help with that recovery, while her college work for her course in radiography allowed her to redirect her focus.
“It was really hard picking yourself back up and finding out what you know about yourself and the team, it’s definitely a process. When you are in the lowest of lows, the only way is up really.”
Ireland are under new management now following the appointment of Scott Bemand, who took over from Greg McWilliams last summer. Bemand is the former head coach of the England women’s XV and was part of the coaching unit coaching set-up as England finished runners up at the 2017 and 2022 Women’s Rugby World Cups. He also helped them to six Six Nations titles as well as achieving the world number one ranking.
“Scott’s kind of made me realise that there’s a lot more dimensions to rugby than I even was aware of. It’s constantly expanding our rugby IQ, and asking questions and emphasising certain parts of the game that maybe we weren’t aware that were so important.
“It’s definitely a more rounded overall knowledge that he’s bringing to the game and it’s been really important and eye-opening for a lot of us.”
Wall distinguished herself as a star back rower for Ireland in the early stages of her international career, but the Tipperary native has been exploring the second row positions recently. During the WXV, she was deployed there for the Kazakhstan and Spain fixtures. She was also in the second row for the Clovers during the Celtic Challenge competition.
“I cover second row and back row comfortably enough,” she explains when asked about her switch in the pack. “I kind of wanted to upskill myself in that way I guess, and if I can cover a few more positions it works to my benefit as well, so that was in the back of my mind in terms of upskilling myself in lineout and being more of an option there and increasing my IQ in that area and learning off people as much as I could.
“I was calling the lineouts for the Clovers and that was definitely a big learning curve for me and I got a lot from it. I just think it’s important to keep improving in certain areas and I know I can do a job at either.”
Some interesting innovations have been announced for the upcoming Six Nations, as Ireland prepare for their tournament of redemption with an away clash in France. Ireland will be preparing for that trip by introducing match noise at training, although Wall was unable to provide any further detail on that as it hasn’t been implemented yet.
On the innovations that will feature in the Six Nations, a bunker system is being introduced, which enables referees to “refer incidents of foul play for review when a potential red card is not clear and obvious”. A shot clock will also be used for the first time in the tournament, allowing a maximum of 60 seconds for a penalty and 90 for a conversion.
The players will also be wearing special mouthguards which uses technology to indicate whether a players requires HIA.
“We had the mouthguards in Dubai for the WXV. It was great: you didn’t have to remember to bring your own gumshield going to the pitch, so that was definitely a benefit. It’s very important, concussion is very prevalent in the media and in health. It’s very important that our heads are looked after because we only have one going forward so it’s a good initiative.”
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