Bemand: We’ve Got The Game To Go There And Cause Problems

Scott Bemand says Dorothy Wall has ‘trained the house down in the last couple of weeks’, with the hard work leading to her second start for Ireland since returning from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Second row Wall is the only change to the team that won 57-20 against Italy in Galway, as Bemand’s side go in search of Ireland’s first win over France since 2017, which would massively boost their hopes of a top two finish in the Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

The stage is set for a potentially explosive rematch between these sides in Clermont-Ferrand on Saturday night, just over seven months on from France’s 18-13 comeback victory at the quarter-final stage of the Rugby World Cup.

Compared to that day in Exeter, Ireland’s selection is missing a pregnant Amee-Leigh Costigan and Aoibheann Reilly, who is currently making her way back to full fitness, but Wall and new captain Erin King bolster the starting XV after both missing the World Cup due to injury.

Apart from the Tipperary native’s inclusion at lock, head coach Bemand has kept faith with the winning formula from the Italy game, while recent debutant Eilís Cahill comes back into the matchday 23, a powerful option off a bench that could have a big say during the second half.

“Doro coming back in, she came on (against Italy) and had a great impact,” he said. “Obviously not basing things just on games, she’s trained the house down in the last couple of weeks.

“We will always look at who we’re playing as well and what we need on the pitch at what point. Ruth (Campbell) has been going great for us. Her impact to come on and finish the game against England was decent.

“We think we’re going to be in a game at the end of this one, so we want to get off to a good start. We need some impact off the bench, so she fits that role.”

Stacey Flood and Linda Djougang have spoken in the build-up about the squad having the confidence to go and get a result in Clermont. They want the group to rise to the challenge, feeling emboldened by how close they ot to France last year, and how clinically they cut open Italy in round 2.

There are a lot of things pointing in the right direction for Ireland, with key players Dannah O’Brien, Béibhinn Parsons and Aoife Wafer coming into form in timely fashion, the team putting the lessons learned against England into practice, and the likes of Ellena Perry, Nancy McGillivray, and the newly-capped Robyn O’Connor stepping up as starters.

The matchday squad, hardened by the highs and lows of their Rugby World Cup experience and working off a solid set-piece platform, has never looked as strong, especially when you consider Bemand has Sam Monaghan, Neve Jones, Eve Higgins, and Anna McGann to introduce.

Five members of the bench unit for tomorrow were starters last time out against France, and with players of the calibre of Grace Moore, Enya Breen, and Sadhbh McGrath missing out on selection, it shows you the depth are building on the back of getting back to the World Cup stage.

“We’ve got the benefit now with our group having come through the World Cup piece where we had full stadiums, a lot of noise and a lot of expectation, internal expectation,” explained Bemand.

“Going away to France is a class experience. We were away in England two weeks ago so we’ve had a recent opportunity of stepping into that sort of arena.

“I saw a completely different group to two years ago walking into that space, so as we continue to evolve, continue to get more confident in ourselves and our performances, I think we’re ready for this one. We’ve trained well.”

He continued: “This is our next opportunity to get a performance out there. We’ve got a great squad that are starting to ask better questions of selection. We’ve left some really talented players out of the 23. Where we are, how we’re going, we’re tracking in the right direction.

“France are a tough prospect there, but these are the occasions, these are the games that excite us as a group, as a nation. That’s why we’re all talking about it, isn’t it? Because we went close in a World Cup, and we’d gone close in the Six Nations before that.

“We want to get our best game out there. We believe in our best game. It’s fantastic that we’ve got a group that walks around now, maybe slightly more confidently. I’m delighted that people notice that about our group. We can’t wait to get ripping into this game.”

Under new head coach François Ratier, France made slower than expected starts against both Italy and Wales, but finished both matches very much in the ascendancy, so Ireland will need their most complete 80-minute performance for some time in order to upset the home side.

The injured Joanna Grisez (ACL) and Gabrielle Vernier (shoulder) are two big losses to the hosts’ back-line, and Ratier has brought in the fit-again Téani Feleu, usually a back rower at Test level but with the ability to play in the centre, to start alongside Aubane Rousset in the midfield.

Casting the net wider in this first year of a new World Cup cycle, Ratier blooded six new players in the home win over the Italians, and four of them will start against Ireland – Rousset, Pauline Barat, and Anaïs Grando in the back-line, and the Clermont-based Mathilde Lazarko at hooker.

20-year-old lock Kiara Zago and her Toulouse club-mate, winger Léa Murie, have also never played against Ireland before, and there are two more fresh faces, recent debutants Cloe Corréa (22) and Siobhan Soqeta (20), who are part of a six-two forwards-heavy bench split.

“The game against England, we let them get off to a start that we didn’t want. France’s two games, they’ve only got going in the second half. So for us, the ability to get a good start is going to be really important for us,” insisted Bemand.

“We know France are a different entity in France. They’re going to have a full stadium behind them, so we know it’s the toughest place to go. We know what we’ve got to do.

“So I think we’ll keep going after the goals that we set ourselves at the beginning. We want to keep closing this gap. Whatever happens, we know we’ve got the game to go there and cause problems.

“If we get that bit right, we will fire enough shots, we’ll get our game out there and the result will take care of itself.”