“Yes, absolutely,” says Irish scrumhalf Molly Scuffil-McCabe answering the question head on. Can Ireland win the Rugby World Cup?
The certainty comes from several things. Rattling current world champions New Zealand last year with a win in Vancouver. A decent second-half performance against Canada last week, a team ranked above Ireland at number two in the world.
It’s like many parts of the jigsaw have been coming together. This Ireland team is probably not viewed by many rival players as genuine World Cup contenders. Not that it matters.
“We fully believe we can,” she says. “I really think this group is special and there’s no reason why not. They are prepared to dig deep. We’ve got the tactics, so yeah.
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“We really believe in our game plan and believe in each other and honestly, I do think it brings a lot of power to the team.
“It’s about believing in the process and the person beside you and I think that has been a massive unlocker for us.”
Team belief and self-sacrifice have both been part of Scuffil-McCabe’s journey. This year she made a decision to pause veterinary studies in New Zealand and stick with her World Cup dream.
Having passed her semester, the formal invitation landed. But acceptance would have taken her away from the Irish team. The decision was about the head or the heart and Scuffil-McCabe grabbed the heart with both hands.
Her life had been playing with New Zealand side Manawatu Cyclones, then travelling back to Ireland for the Six Nations Championship. A life of straddling two hemispheres but with Ireland always centre stage.
“I was offered a place but had to withdraw because I wouldn’t have been able to do Irish rugby,” she says. “I made that choice. I was given 18 hours to make the decision and it took me 30 minutes to have my answer. There’s a lot of time to do the things I want to do after rugby. It was a no-brainer.”
She didn’t play against Canada last weekend but started as partner to outhalf Dannah O’Brien against Scotland in the first of the warm-up games to earn a 22nd Irish cap. Japan are first up and then Spain before she meets up with some of her rugby friends in New Zealand. Then it’s a final Pool C game against the Black Ferns at the American Express Stadium in Brighton on September 7th.
“New Zealand rugby, it’s a different environment. There are different ways of doing things,” she says.
“It made me front up. How was I going to take down someone who was much bigger than me and had a clean run at me. It was a learning experience.”
A first World Cup. That will be a learning experience too.
