SCOTT BEMAND HAS said Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald is the ideal player to take the game to England after the Ireland head coach selected the Galway native in his starting line-up for their Women’s Six Nations Championship opener at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday [KO 2.25pm].
A debutant when Ireland played their first-ever women’s autumn international against the English at nearby Twickenham Stoop back in November 2015, Moloney-MacDonald will pick up her 50th international cap in the London venue. Having been a much-discussed absentee from the Test arena for more than two years, she was brought back into the Irish fold by Bemand midway through the 2024 Six Nations and has been a ubiquitous presence in international camps ever since.
She has often been used off the bench over the past two seasons, but Bemand has opted to cap Moloney-MacDonald’s landmark appearance in green by selecting the Exeter Chiefs player in his front-row for the visit to the world champions.
“I’ve sort of got a long history with Clí and know what she can offer. The set-piece side of the game, she’s outstanding. She plays with a bit of edge and a great level of physicality,” Bemand said.
“You’re going away to the world champions, current number one in the world in what will be an amazing occasion in Twickenham and somebody with Clí’s physicality is going to transfer brilliantly in that occasion.”
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Ireland head coach Scott Bemand. Grace Halton / INPHO
Grace Halton / INPHO / INPHO
While the backline Bemand has named are all domestic based, Moloney-MacDonald (whose wife Claudia Moloney-MacDonald has been named in England’s XV) is one of five players in the starting Irish pack who are currently operating across the water in Premiership Women’s Rugby.
Perhaps the most intriguing of this quintet is loosehead prop Ellena Perry, who is set to make her Six Nations debut for Ireland after picking up three of her four caps to date during last year’s World Cup.
Saturday’s game is set to be a fascinating one for the former Saracens front-row, given she previously lined out for England on 11 occasions at senior level from 2018 to 2020.
Yet thanks to a change in World Rugby’s eligibility rules that came into effect back in 2022, Perry was able to switch allegiances to Ireland – for whom she qualified through her late maternal grandfather from Derry.
Bemand was involved in the English set-up as a lead coach when Perry represented the Red Roses and while it was a close call between her and Gloucester-Hartpury colleague Niamh O’Dowd for the number one jersey, he believes both players can have an impact throughout the course of Saturday’s game.
“I think Denis [Fogarty, Ireland assistant coach] said it yesterday, the work that the set-piece has done both from scrum and maul has moved on unbelievably in the space of a year. We don’t see the scrum as being a problem. The girls are confident in what they can do.
“You’ve got somebody of the calibre of an El Perry who can start the game, get you into the game and then you bring on Niamh O’Dowd’s energy at the right point. I think we got the balance of it right in terms of starting and lifting the game later on when Noddy comes on.”
Ellena Perry. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Although the starting line-up Bemand has selected for a tough encounter doesn’t contain any newcomers to international rugby, the uncapped duo of Eilís Cahill and Katie Whelan could make their debuts if introduced off the bench in front of over 70,000 spectators in Twickenham.
As for some of those who have missed out on the match day 23, Bemand confirmed that former co-captain Sam Monaghan and scrum-half Aoibheann Reilly have been working back from injuries and could be in line to feature against Italy in Galway’s Dexcom Stadium on Saturday week.
Despite eventually being on the receiving end of a 49-5 defeat when they met England at Virgin Media Park in Cork almost exactly 12 months ago, Ireland initially led in that round three Six Nations tie and were just two points in arrears (7-5) before a converted Zoe Harrison try on 48 minutes sparked a dominant spell from John Mitchell’s side.
There was plenty about their display in the opening stretches of the game that pleased Bemand, but he is adamant Ireland have improved as a team in the past year and is confident they are capable of leaving a greater impression on their latest duel with England.
“If you look at last year, for 48 minutes we were in that game. Now, there’s some rationale in terms of why it went away from us, but we’re a better team than we were last year. If you look at how Dannah O’Brien is walking around quarter-backing the team now, we’ve got such an opportunity in front of us,” Bemand added.
“First thing is, we want to get a good start. Second thing, we want to be in the game deeper than we were before. We want to fire some shots. If we do that and we’re in the game, then we can ask some very, very good questions of the English.”
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Bemand backs Moloney-MacDonald to bring 'a bit of edge' in Twickenham
SCOTT BEMAND HAS said Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald is the ideal player to take the game to England after the Ireland head coach selected the Galway native in his starting line-up for their Women’s Six Nations Championship opener at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday [KO 2.25pm].
A debutant when Ireland played their first-ever women’s autumn international against the English at nearby Twickenham Stoop back in November 2015, Moloney-MacDonald will pick up her 50th international cap in the London venue. Having been a much-discussed absentee from the Test arena for more than two years, she was brought back into the Irish fold by Bemand midway through the 2024 Six Nations and has been a ubiquitous presence in international camps ever since.
She has often been used off the bench over the past two seasons, but Bemand has opted to cap Moloney-MacDonald’s landmark appearance in green by selecting the Exeter Chiefs player in his front-row for the visit to the world champions.
“I’ve sort of got a long history with Clí and know what she can offer. The set-piece side of the game, she’s outstanding. She plays with a bit of edge and a great level of physicality,” Bemand said.
“You’re going away to the world champions, current number one in the world in what will be an amazing occasion in Twickenham and somebody with Clí’s physicality is going to transfer brilliantly in that occasion.”
While the backline Bemand has named are all domestic based, Moloney-MacDonald (whose wife Claudia Moloney-MacDonald has been named in England’s XV) is one of five players in the starting Irish pack who are currently operating across the water in Premiership Women’s Rugby.
Perhaps the most intriguing of this quintet is loosehead prop Ellena Perry, who is set to make her Six Nations debut for Ireland after picking up three of her four caps to date during last year’s World Cup.
Saturday’s game is set to be a fascinating one for the former Saracens front-row, given she previously lined out for England on 11 occasions at senior level from 2018 to 2020.
Yet thanks to a change in World Rugby’s eligibility rules that came into effect back in 2022, Perry was able to switch allegiances to Ireland – for whom she qualified through her late maternal grandfather from Derry.
Bemand was involved in the English set-up as a lead coach when Perry represented the Red Roses and while it was a close call between her and Gloucester-Hartpury colleague Niamh O’Dowd for the number one jersey, he believes both players can have an impact throughout the course of Saturday’s game.
“I think Denis [Fogarty, Ireland assistant coach] said it yesterday, the work that the set-piece has done both from scrum and maul has moved on unbelievably in the space of a year. We don’t see the scrum as being a problem. The girls are confident in what they can do.
“You’ve got somebody of the calibre of an El Perry who can start the game, get you into the game and then you bring on Niamh O’Dowd’s energy at the right point. I think we got the balance of it right in terms of starting and lifting the game later on when Noddy comes on.”
Although the starting line-up Bemand has selected for a tough encounter doesn’t contain any newcomers to international rugby, the uncapped duo of Eilís Cahill and Katie Whelan could make their debuts if introduced off the bench in front of over 70,000 spectators in Twickenham.
As for some of those who have missed out on the match day 23, Bemand confirmed that former co-captain Sam Monaghan and scrum-half Aoibheann Reilly have been working back from injuries and could be in line to feature against Italy in Galway’s Dexcom Stadium on Saturday week.
Despite eventually being on the receiving end of a 49-5 defeat when they met England at Virgin Media Park in Cork almost exactly 12 months ago, Ireland initially led in that round three Six Nations tie and were just two points in arrears (7-5) before a converted Zoe Harrison try on 48 minutes sparked a dominant spell from John Mitchell’s side.
There was plenty about their display in the opening stretches of the game that pleased Bemand, but he is adamant Ireland have improved as a team in the past year and is confident they are capable of leaving a greater impression on their latest duel with England.
“If you look at last year, for 48 minutes we were in that game. Now, there’s some rationale in terms of why it went away from us, but we’re a better team than we were last year. If you look at how Dannah O’Brien is walking around quarter-backing the team now, we’ve got such an opportunity in front of us,” Bemand added.
“First thing is, we want to get a good start. Second thing, we want to be in the game deeper than we were before. We want to fire some shots. If we do that and we’re in the game, then we can ask some very, very good questions of the English.”
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