IT WAS FAR from the most convincing performance but there was no sign of any frustration as Ireland celebrated the fact today’s 43-27 bonus-point defeat of Spain ensured their passage to the World Cup quarter-finals.
It’s an achievement that deserves celebrating in any context, but certainly when you consider where this group have come from. Ireland missed out on the last World Cup and hooker Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald is the only member of the 32-player squad who has previous World Cup experience.
So after extending their stay in England and ensuring next Sunday’s meeting with New Zealand will decide who tops Pool C, and as result likely avoid France in the quarter-finals, the Ireland players were in fine voice when they finally got back to their dressing room.
So much so that at times it was difficult to hear Scott Bemand from our position in the post-game media huddle, his words being drowned out by hearty versions of ‘Killeagh’ and ‘Zombie’ that echoed down the hallways in Franklin’s Gardens.
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“The group are absolutely buzzing for a couple of reasons; the quarter-final, I’ve just been told it’s the most Ireland have ever scored at a World Cup and it’s only game two, and Linda Djougang, who’s just got her 50th cap,” said Bemand.
The Ireland head coach certainly sounded satisfied with the result, if a little frustrated with the concession of five tries against a young Spanish team.
Scott Bemand. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
After going 12-0 up in Northampton and looking comfortable, Ireland saw Spain claw their way back to level the scores at 12-12. And while Ireland would hit their opponents for seven tries in total, with the bonus point safe before half time, they never really shook off a Spain team who fought to the end, scoring the last of the game’s 12 tries.
“I think we controlled it early and well, and some of the kicking in the first half was sublime, wasn’t it, in the corners and just keeping pressure on the Spanish,” Bemand said.
“They’re a good team, Spain, and what we started to do when we went through the game, we’d have good moments, good exits, and give them an entry back so it felt like a very flip flop game by the end of it where we’d get out, we’d give away a penalty, we’re back in and we’re defending 10 minutes of pick and go.
“So we’ll look hard at that, about how we can stop it and what we need to do.
“There’ll be some bits around what a contest looks like, but we need to learn to manage that, we need to learn to deal with it a bit better, so we’ll look pretty hard at our own performance, the bits where we can grow and obviously there’s bits to grow, there always is.
“We’ve never professed to be the finished article, but scoring another seven tries out there again today, it shows that we’ve got some firepower, it shows we’ve got some tools that we can call upon, it’s just calling upon them consistently and more in the right space which will let us go longer and deeper into these games.”
One potential concern was the sight of Sam Monaghan making way midway through the first half, the Ireland captain struggling to shake off the effects of a heavy double tackle. Bemand didn’t offer much detail but didn’t sound like a coach who feared not having his captain available in Brighton next Sunday.
Ireland's Aoife Dalton is tackled by Spain's Claudia Perez. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“Yeah, she got a bang to a hip so she was moving a little more gingerly than we would have liked. So knowing where we are and believing in the group that we’ve got around her, we made the decision to take her off and be proactive about games three to six should we get there.”
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Bemand was also asked about his decision to make seven changes from last weekend’s defeat of Japan, given the lack of cohesion in some elements of Ireland’s play today.
“We’ve just won (with) a bonus point, a bonus-point try, we’re in a quarter-final. I’m going to say we’ve got that (decision) right.”
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'Obviously there's bits to grow' - Ireland have room for improvement after Spanish test
IT WAS FAR from the most convincing performance but there was no sign of any frustration as Ireland celebrated the fact today’s 43-27 bonus-point defeat of Spain ensured their passage to the World Cup quarter-finals.
It’s an achievement that deserves celebrating in any context, but certainly when you consider where this group have come from. Ireland missed out on the last World Cup and hooker Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald is the only member of the 32-player squad who has previous World Cup experience.
So after extending their stay in England and ensuring next Sunday’s meeting with New Zealand will decide who tops Pool C, and as result likely avoid France in the quarter-finals, the Ireland players were in fine voice when they finally got back to their dressing room.
So much so that at times it was difficult to hear Scott Bemand from our position in the post-game media huddle, his words being drowned out by hearty versions of ‘Killeagh’ and ‘Zombie’ that echoed down the hallways in Franklin’s Gardens.
“The group are absolutely buzzing for a couple of reasons; the quarter-final, I’ve just been told it’s the most Ireland have ever scored at a World Cup and it’s only game two, and Linda Djougang, who’s just got her 50th cap,” said Bemand.
The Ireland head coach certainly sounded satisfied with the result, if a little frustrated with the concession of five tries against a young Spanish team.
After going 12-0 up in Northampton and looking comfortable, Ireland saw Spain claw their way back to level the scores at 12-12. And while Ireland would hit their opponents for seven tries in total, with the bonus point safe before half time, they never really shook off a Spain team who fought to the end, scoring the last of the game’s 12 tries.
“I think we controlled it early and well, and some of the kicking in the first half was sublime, wasn’t it, in the corners and just keeping pressure on the Spanish,” Bemand said.
“They’re a good team, Spain, and what we started to do when we went through the game, we’d have good moments, good exits, and give them an entry back so it felt like a very flip flop game by the end of it where we’d get out, we’d give away a penalty, we’re back in and we’re defending 10 minutes of pick and go.
“So we’ll look hard at that, about how we can stop it and what we need to do.
“There’ll be some bits around what a contest looks like, but we need to learn to manage that, we need to learn to deal with it a bit better, so we’ll look pretty hard at our own performance, the bits where we can grow and obviously there’s bits to grow, there always is.
“We’ve never professed to be the finished article, but scoring another seven tries out there again today, it shows that we’ve got some firepower, it shows we’ve got some tools that we can call upon, it’s just calling upon them consistently and more in the right space which will let us go longer and deeper into these games.”
One potential concern was the sight of Sam Monaghan making way midway through the first half, the Ireland captain struggling to shake off the effects of a heavy double tackle. Bemand didn’t offer much detail but didn’t sound like a coach who feared not having his captain available in Brighton next Sunday.
“Yeah, she got a bang to a hip so she was moving a little more gingerly than we would have liked. So knowing where we are and believing in the group that we’ve got around her, we made the decision to take her off and be proactive about games three to six should we get there.”
Bemand was also asked about his decision to make seven changes from last weekend’s defeat of Japan, given the lack of cohesion in some elements of Ireland’s play today.
“We’ve just won (with) a bonus point, a bonus-point try, we’re in a quarter-final. I’m going to say we’ve got that (decision) right.”
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