SCOTT BEMAND HAILED Ireland’s debutants after Alana McInerney and Sophie Barrett scored the insurance tries in a 43-19 victory over Japan in Cork.
The head coach believes his side are “where we need to be with a three-year picture” until the 2029 World Cup in Australia.
A key element of that is expanding the squad depth, which was achieved with debuts for that duo and Leinster lock Kate Jordan as second-half replacements.
Munster back McInerney, whose twin brother Mark is playing a Clare SFC semi-final for Éire Óg tomorrow, rebuffed five Japanese tackles for her 63rd-minute touchdown. Ulster prop Barrett added the cherry on top in the penultimate minute.
“There’s no surprises in rugby for us,” said Bemand. “We’ve seen Alana do that a few times in training over the last month.
“She’s fought through people. One defender, second defender, third defender, score. And lo and behold, she does it today.
“It’s not a surprise. She’s earned the right to do that.
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“Sophie Barrett scores regularly enough in training. We’ve seen her in the interpros. She gets excited by the ball. If the ball’s in front of her, she’ll go and whack someone.
“Going over to South Africa, it’s going to be so important to win the collision game and how we get dominance in and around that.
“So getting young players moments within the green shirts is really important. I’ve got to keep that going now, whilst keeping the levels of performance. We want to win.”
Alana McInerney scores Ireland's sixth try. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Bemand highlighted the backline versatility of McInerney, the “outstanding” Anna McGann, Robyn O’Connor, and first-time starter Niamh Gallagher, who “can start to build a bit of pressure on Stacey Flood”, adding that “we all benefit from that”.
He also hailed Jordan’s impact on her first Ireland appearance, casting his mind back to her impact during the Celtic Challenge.
“It was when it was really, really wet and floods were everywhere,” Bemand began. “She brought a laptop in to work from the HPC (high-performance centre).
“She was downstairs. There was a leak in the roof. It was leaking on her bag. I walked past her and I went over and said, ‘Hey, KJ, how are you doing?’ She’s like, ‘I am so excited to get out there.’
“I was like, ‘Have you seen the weather forecast, KJ? It’s lashing down.’ She goes, ‘I don’t care. I just love it.’
“That was six months ago. Now, she’s got a professional contract. She’s training regularly at the HPC. She comes on today and she’s honestly full of energy. She gets off the line, forces a turnover because of her line speed. I’m just delighted for her. It’s the story that people want to hear.
“I love the fact that she’s been able to earn her opportunity. There’s no gimmies in this. She’s earned her opportunity. She’s come out and winning performance, she’s created some stuff on the pitch. Where this goes, it’s a cool story to follow.”
On the performances in this window, following a late defeat against America with two victories over Japan, Bemand said: “You could put a montage together of some absolutely fantastic tries and there’s probably a montage of bits that we’ve got to tidy up on if we’re going to end up competing at the top end of the game in three years.
Sophie Barrett with her first cap. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Kate Jordan with her first cap. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“I think there’s a bigger score out there. That score should have been in the 50s, perhaps even pushing 60. You’re never going to get them all. When we get to where we want to get to, we’ll be more relentless when we get into the score zone.
“Technically, we can be a bit better and a bit smarter and perhaps even a bit more aggressive with some of our play in how relentless we are.
“The flip of it is we don’t need to let people in when we’re looking comfortable in the middle of the pitch. We don’t want to give teams easy ins.”
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Bemand hails debutants as Ireland continue to build depth in impressive win over Japan
SCOTT BEMAND HAILED Ireland’s debutants after Alana McInerney and Sophie Barrett scored the insurance tries in a 43-19 victory over Japan in Cork.
The head coach believes his side are “where we need to be with a three-year picture” until the 2029 World Cup in Australia.
A key element of that is expanding the squad depth, which was achieved with debuts for that duo and Leinster lock Kate Jordan as second-half replacements.
Munster back McInerney, whose twin brother Mark is playing a Clare SFC semi-final for Éire Óg tomorrow, rebuffed five Japanese tackles for her 63rd-minute touchdown. Ulster prop Barrett added the cherry on top in the penultimate minute.
“There’s no surprises in rugby for us,” said Bemand. “We’ve seen Alana do that a few times in training over the last month.
“She’s fought through people. One defender, second defender, third defender, score. And lo and behold, she does it today.
“It’s not a surprise. She’s earned the right to do that.
“Sophie Barrett scores regularly enough in training. We’ve seen her in the interpros. She gets excited by the ball. If the ball’s in front of her, she’ll go and whack someone.
“Going over to South Africa, it’s going to be so important to win the collision game and how we get dominance in and around that.
“So getting young players moments within the green shirts is really important. I’ve got to keep that going now, whilst keeping the levels of performance. We want to win.”
Bemand highlighted the backline versatility of McInerney, the “outstanding” Anna McGann, Robyn O’Connor, and first-time starter Niamh Gallagher, who “can start to build a bit of pressure on Stacey Flood”, adding that “we all benefit from that”.
He also hailed Jordan’s impact on her first Ireland appearance, casting his mind back to her impact during the Celtic Challenge.
“It was when it was really, really wet and floods were everywhere,” Bemand began. “She brought a laptop in to work from the HPC (high-performance centre).
“She was downstairs. There was a leak in the roof. It was leaking on her bag. I walked past her and I went over and said, ‘Hey, KJ, how are you doing?’ She’s like, ‘I am so excited to get out there.’
“I was like, ‘Have you seen the weather forecast, KJ? It’s lashing down.’ She goes, ‘I don’t care. I just love it.’
“That was six months ago. Now, she’s got a professional contract. She’s training regularly at the HPC. She comes on today and she’s honestly full of energy. She gets off the line, forces a turnover because of her line speed. I’m just delighted for her. It’s the story that people want to hear.
“I love the fact that she’s been able to earn her opportunity. There’s no gimmies in this. She’s earned her opportunity. She’s come out and winning performance, she’s created some stuff on the pitch. Where this goes, it’s a cool story to follow.”
On the performances in this window, following a late defeat against America with two victories over Japan, Bemand said: “You could put a montage together of some absolutely fantastic tries and there’s probably a montage of bits that we’ve got to tidy up on if we’re going to end up competing at the top end of the game in three years.
“I think there’s a bigger score out there. That score should have been in the 50s, perhaps even pushing 60. You’re never going to get them all. When we get to where we want to get to, we’ll be more relentless when we get into the score zone.
“Technically, we can be a bit better and a bit smarter and perhaps even a bit more aggressive with some of our play in how relentless we are.
“The flip of it is we don’t need to let people in when we’re looking comfortable in the middle of the pitch. We don’t want to give teams easy ins.”
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