McMahon And Bemand Ready For Rugby World Cup Kick Off

Scott Bemand and Edel McMahon, who makes a welcome return to the green jersey, spoke to the media today as Ireland prepare to open their Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 campaign in Sunday against Japan.

The match is live RTÉ2 and BBC Two, while there will be live radio commentary on RTÉ 2FM.

McMahon was earlier named in the team and Bemand was delighted to welcome her back,“We used the two games in pre-season to get minutes into people, combinations are important to transition pre-season into the Test arena. It’s great to have Tricky (Edel McMahon) back. We’ve had a strong plan from the beginning. She’s been throwing herself around the training field for the last couple of weeks, I think experience is going to be a big part of this game.”

The head coach also spoke about the decision to select Fiona Tuite in the backrow alongside McMahon and Brittany Hogan, “Fiona’s been playing really well, she brings a wealth of lineout experience. We tend to view the back five of the scrum as a back five and not just locks and back rows. We believe her intent around carrying and lineout prowess gives us an opportunity to start this game how we want to.”