CONSIDERING SOME of the injury issues he has had to contend with in recent times, it comes as little surprise to hear Ireland women’s head coach Scott Bemand is delighted his squad emerged unscathed from their warm-up game against Canada on Saturday.

Before he assembled a 37-player training squad for the forthcoming Women’s Rugby World Cup on 2 June at the IRFU High Performance Centre, Bemand was already forced to plan for the tournament without the services of long-term absentees Erin King and Dorothy Wall.

There has also been some concern surrounding the fitness of Aoife Wafer, who tore her posterior cruciate ligament against Wales during the Six Nations Championship in April before completely tearing her medial cruciate ligament in her first full week back in training.

More recently, co-captain Edel McMahon and Christy Haney were ruled out of Saturday’s 47-26 defeat to Canada at Affidea Stadium in Belfast with respective knee and hamstring issues — albeit McMahon appears to be on track for an imminent return to full fitness.

With his final squad for the World Cup being announced on Monday morning, Bemand cut a relieved figure when there were no fresh concerns from this weekend’s second and final warm-up fixture.

While Brittany Hogan was replaced on 56 minutes, moments after receiving on-field treatment, Bemand revealed this was merely a precautionary measure.

“This stage of going into a World Cup, you want to come out of these games intact. You want your players okay, and we’ve come out of that relatively intact, so I’m delighted about that. Britt, it’s actually nothing too serious. Just as you go through, you get the odd bump and bruise,” Bemand said.

“We retain the right to be a little bit cautious and take people off a little bit early. If this were a quarter-final, she could have stayed on. Britt’s obviously a big player and has been the last two years. I’m happy with how our medics have operated.

“We are in constant communication on the sidelines. ‘Who’s under pressure, who’s got a niggle?’ Where it sits, what it looks like for next week. We’ve put plans in place. We’ve got a small scenario, and we can be a little bit protective here.”

Although Ireland overcame an early 14-point deficit to record a 27-21 victory over Scotland in their first World Cup warm-up encounter at Virgin Media Park in Cork seven days earlier, it was always going to be that bit more difficult to rein in Canada after they established the same cushion in the opening quarter at the home of Ulster Rugby.

Currently occupying second spot in the women’s rugby world rankings, the Maple Leafs showed their class by moving into a 40-7 advantage by the 55th minute of the action. Yet before Canada’s second row Sophie de Goede completed the scoring in the final moments with a converted try, Ireland registered 19 points without reply to offer themselves plenty of solace from the fixture.

Winger Anna McGann was particularly prominent during this period as she pounced for tries in the 59th and 62nd minutes – the latter effort being a superb individual score from the Westmeath native.

Picking up her 11th Ireland senior cap in Belfast, McGann built on a positive Six Nations campaign earlier this year that saw her grab a hat-trick of tries in a round two success over Italy in Parma on 30 March.

Having sat out the Scotland game, McGann was given her chance to impress as part of an Irish back-three that featured Stacey Flood and Beibhinn Parsons, who also ended the contest with two tries to her name. The experienced Amee-Leigh Costigan had been given the nod on the left wing against the Scots, and while the Tipperary woman and Parsons are amongst her competitors for a spot in the team, McGann believes it is a healthy sign that there are a number of options for Bemand in the Irish back line.

“I think if you look at the squad, we’re probably at the most competitive that we’ve ever been. Which is quite reflective of what a good place we’re in. I think having the best players surrounding me is only going to drive you on more,” McGann said.

“It has been really good to have Beibhinn back in and to have Amee-Leigh Costigan. They’re two massive players for our squad and two players that I strive to be more like. It makes it more competitive, but it makes it better as well.

“I definitely took a bit of confidence from the Six Nations, but I think that was four months ago now. We’re onto a new challenge, and we’re constantly wanting to get better as a squad as well.”