AT THIS REMOVE, Ireland’s target in this year’s women’s Six Nations championship is a fourth-place finish. That’s where they wound up after last year’s tournament too.
There are just some hurdles that are too high to mount. England and France are seasoned professional outfits which effectively puts them out of Ireland’s reach. And as we saw last weekend against Wales – who have an extra year of professional status in their set-up compared to Ireland – they too are beyond Greg McWilliams’ side right now.
A week on from that 31-5 pummeling, Ireland must now reset to face last year’s competition runners-up France in Cork’s Musgrave Park. That venue was a solid fortress for the Ireland U20s who successfully defended their Grand Slam title earlier this month. But, in simple terms, it will have to be a ground that serves a different purpose for the women’s team.
Among the various themes cropping up in advance of this game is the significance of gathering a vociferous home crowd in Cork later this afternoon. They need support in the stands when they’re facing — on paper anyway — a superior side that may well add to Ireland’s tally of losses in this championship. A performance in circumstances like this is the main aim of this weekend for the hosts.
The unavailability of their Sevens crop has been referenced many times in recent weeks but their absence cannot be overstated. The presence of players like Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Stacey Flood, Eve Higgins, Lucy Mulhall and Beibhinn Parsons would certainly have altered the look of last week’s scoreline. But their services are being put towards Olympic qualification right now.
The most obvious solution to this issue of player crossover would be to establish separate pathways for Sevens and 15s. While the Sevens game is an important arm of the game, the 15s game is the one that always has the spotlight and the media coverage. Such a concentrated level of focus brings its positives in one respect, but it cannot be easy for a player to be on the receiving end of a heavy defeat with the knowledge that this game is also being shown on national television.
However, player population in the women’s game in Ireland is a big factor in pursuing such a change.
That said, the decision is still hampering the 15s programme and has resulted in Ireland fielding a young and largely inexperienced team. As former Ireland international Anna Caplice outlined in an excellent piece on Echo Live, our cap numbers make for startling reading.
Ireland captain Nichola Fryday is currently our most capped player with just 29 appearances to her name. We saw Ulster’s Sadhbh McGrath make her Ireland bow last weekend in the front row at just 18 years of age. You must also account for the players who have retired, are injured, cannot financially afford to swap their careers for international rugby, and the others who would be considered by many to be worthy of selection, but have been inexplicably overlooked.
The most recent setback for Ireland is the loss of Enya Breen for the rest of the competition to injury.
Introducing the Ireland Match Day Squad to face France at Musgrave Park! 🟢#NothingLikeIt | #TikTokW6N
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) March 30, 2023
“When England come to Musgrave Park on April 22,” Caplice writes, “the sum of appearances for the entire Irish squad will just about surpass 100. England’s next most capped current player, and due to take up captaincy following [Sarah] Hunter’s departure, is Marlie Packer, with 90 caps.”
Just for context, Hunter is hanging up her English jersey at 37 and has 141 caps for her country. She chose to pick England’s tournament opener against Scotland as her final game in order for her to finish her career on her own terms.
Munster’s Caplice also featured on Off The Ball this week, where she pointed to a big deficiency in the women’s system: There is no Ireland women’s U20s team. Players like McGrath would benefit from playing in a development team like that.
“She [McGrath] handled it as well as she could and they definitely targeted her,” says Caplice. “She’ll have learned from that definitely, but I would just love to see girls coming in who you know have been through this in an U20s Six Nations. I want to see that down the line for us.”
There’s another first coming up for Ireland today as out-half Dannah O’Brien comes in to start in the Six Nations for the first time. McWilliams has made five changes in total for the game with Vicky Irwin and O’Brien coming into the backline. Christy Haney, Grace Moore and Deirbhile Nic a Bháird have all been named to start in the pack.
Clara Nielson and Kathryn Buggy are both among the replacements, set to earn their first caps for Ireland.
☘️🇫🇷 𝑳𝑨 𝑪𝑶𝑴𝑷𝑶 𝑫𝑬𝑺 𝑩𝑳𝑬𝑼𝑬𝑺!
— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) March 30, 2023
Rendez-vous samedi pour le deuxième match du #XVdeFrance dans ce #TikTokW6N 2023 🔥#IRLFRA pic.twitter.com/EHHxAuu3mo
France will present a massive challenge but those newcomers will be aiming to take their chance as Ireland aim to come off the pitch with a performance they can be satisfied with.
Ireland v France, Musgrave Park - KO 3.15pm Virgin Media One
Ireland
- 15. Méabh Deely (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht) (3)
- 14. Aoife Doyle (Railway Union RFC/Munster) (13)
- 13. Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) (3)
- 12. Vicky Irwin (Sale Sharks/Ulster) (2)
- 11. Natasja Behan (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster) (3)
- 10. Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) (3)
- 9. Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Railway Union RFC/Leinster) (5)
- 1. Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) (25)
- 2. Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury/Ulster) (14)
- 3. Christy Haney (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster) (6)
- 4. Nichola Fryday (Exeter Chiefs/Connacht) (30) (Captain)
- 5. Sam Monaghan (Gloucester-Hartpury/IQ Rugby) (11)
- 6. Dorothy Wall (Blackrock College RFC/Munster) (17)
- 7. Grace Moore (Saracens/IQ Rugby) (6)
- 8. Deirbhile Nic a Bháird (Old Belvedere RFC/Munster) (5)
Replacements
- 16. Clara Nielson (Exeter Chiefs/IQ Rugby)*
- 17. Sadhbh McGrath (City of Derry/Cooke RFC/Ulster) (1)
- 18. Kathryn Buggy (Gloucester-Hartpury/IQ Rugby)*
- 19. Hannah O’Connor (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster) (15)
- 20. Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster) (11)
- 21. Nicole Cronin (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster) (22)
- 22. Anna McGann (Railway Union RFC/Connacht) (2)
- 23. Lauren Delany (Sale Sharks/IQ Rugby) (18).
France
- 15 Morgane Bourgeois
- 14 Cyrielle Banet
- 13 Marine Menager
- 12 Gabrielle Vernier
- 11 Caroline Boujard
- 10 Carla Arbez
- 9 Pauline Bourdon
- 1 Annaelle Deshaye
- 2 Agathe Sochat
- 3 Clara Joyeux
- 4 Manae Feleu
- 5 Audrey Forlani
- 6 Axelle Berthoumieu
- 7 Emeline Gros
- 8 Charlotte Escudero
Replacements:
- 16 Elisa Riffoneau
- 17 Coco Lindelauf
- 18 Assia Khalfaoui
- 19 Maelle Picut
- 20 Gaelle Hermet
- 21 Alexandra Chambon
- 22 Jessy Tremouliere
- 23 Marie Dupouy
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
