Rewind to when Scott Bemand began his tenure as Ireland women’s head coach in August last year, and the notion that Ireland would be beating Australia 36-10 with the brand of rugby they played in Belfast last Saturday would, frankly, have seemed like fantasy.
Following the failure to qualify for the last World Cup on that painful night in Parma in September 2021, the fall to the whitewash in the 2023 Six Nations had been inexorable. The team had reached a nadir and, amid all manner of off-field controversies, the IRFU stood indicted for its mismanagement of women’s rugby.
True, as head coach Bemand stressed that the emphatic beating of the Wallaroos last Saturday was in a non-tournament environment. Tougher tests assuredly await, not least New Zealand next Sunday week, to be followed by Canada and the USA in Ireland’s foray into WXV1 in Vancouver.
Even so, they approach these matches in an altogether more confident and revitalised state than would have seemed imaginable a year ago. So, what has brought about this rapid transformation?
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Under the direction of the chief executive Kevin Potts, the IRFU accepted all 30 recommendations of an independent review following the failure to qualify for women’s Rugby World Cup in 2021. He apologised to the players and the union invested more money into women’s rugby.
By then Gemma Crowley, manager of the Ireland team that won a Grand Slam in 2012, had been appointed as a full-time women’s XVs national team programme manager and, in August 2022, Gillian McDarby was appointed as head of women’s performance and pathways, effectively the David Humphreys of the women’s game and a central driving force in the transformation. The team has been supported by the kind of coaching, strength and conditioning, video analysis and support staff needed to create a high-performance environment in tandem with their base in the IRU’s high-performance centre (HPC).
Irish rugby has had a very good record in delving into the English coaching network in recent years and Bemand looked a good fit when he was announced as successor to Greg McWilliams. His record as England attack coach – including five Grand Slams and two World Cup finals – demanded respect.
Declan Danaher left very solid foundations as defence coach before moving on to be replaced by Hugh Hogan, the highly-regarded former Leinster skills coach, after he completed a stint in Japan.
When John McKee moved on to a new role in the IRFU, the former Newcastle Falcons head coach Alex Codling became forwards coach; Gareth Steenson is the kicking coach and Denis Fogarty, who brings energy and humour as his brother John does with the men’s team, has been the one constant over the last three seasons as scrum coach.
The willingness to take on the intense and in-depth detail of Bemand and his assistants was also demonstrated in the improved set-piece, attack and defence, last Saturday.
A key appointment, and every bit as influential as Gary Keegan with the men’s team, has been Sean Ryan, who previously worked with Graham Rowntree at Munster, in a full-time culture and leadership role. Ryan immediately travelled to England to interview all the Premiership-based players as well as those based at home, to have all grievances aired, and set about creating an environment of accountability and togetherness, as evidenced by the squad’s off-field buddy system.
A game changer has been having 37 players based on central contracts, whether 15s or 7s players or both, in the HPC. It meant that even when the 7s squad were competing on the World Series and making their historic appearance at the Olympics, they were all training four days a week and based in the same buildings.
Where before there was division, not least given how the 15s and 7s squads operated separately, now there is harmony. Hence, when the six Olympians returned in time for the two-week build-up to the Australian game along with five English-based players, there was a tight togetherness.
You could sense this in the way Eimear Considine, an inspired pick by Bemand at full-back on the back of two interpro appearances, was mobbed by starters and replacements alike after her turnover try with the last play of the first-half in her comeback game.
The green shoots of a recovery had been sown when finishing third in the Six Nations and securing qualification for next year’s World Cup, which now assumes priority, for all the players will want to be part of that expedition to England. The 7s players will probably take in the World Series in Dubai and Cape Town later in the year, and perhaps Perth next January, but will almost certainly return for the Six Nations.
They raised standards with their gig-game experience, skill set and rugby intellect. Witness Erin King’s impact off the bench on debut in just her third game at 15s. They also add to the squad’s versatility, which will be additionally important when bringing 32 players to the World Cup.
Last Saturday, as well as Linda Djougang switching between loose-head and tight-head as she does, Enya Breen moved effectively from inside centre to outhalf, and when Stacy Flood seamlessly provided quality in a first Test outing at full-back, Considine switched to the wing.
Of course, when you reach the bottom, the only way is up, and in some respects Bemand’s timing couldn’t have been better, for McWilliams was at the helm at the time when the IRFU was still bringing some kind of order and expertise to the women’s programme.
Long term, the AIL and Celtic Challenge require significant improvement. There will still be tough days ahead for the women’s team. Even so, Bemand et al have been virtually note-perfect so far and this team looks to be upwardly mobile.
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