Bemand: Sevens Players Bring Firepower To 150th Anniversary Match

Ireland head coach Scott Bemand believes the Sevens players involved will bring ‘some firepower’ to Irish Rugby’s 150th Anniversary Test match on Saturday afternoon.

The Ireland Women (sponsored by Aon) open the new international season tomorrow by entertaining Australia at Kingspan Stadium (kick-off 2.30pm – live on TG4 and TG4.ie). Tickets are available to purchase here.

Vicky Elmes Kinlan and Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe fill the wing berths having scored 40 tries between them during last season’s HSBC SVNS Series. It will be Elmes Kinlan’s debut for the Ireland 15s team.

There are four more Paris 2024 Olympians on the replacements bench, with another 15s new cap Erin King, and fellow Sevens stars, Emily Lane, Eve Higgins, and Stacey Flood, all included.

Speaking about the reintegration of those players into the 15s camp, Bemand said: “We’ve had two really, really good training weeks in terms of what it’s been like to come from a Sevens pitch to a 15s pitch, and everything I’ve seen so far they’ve taken to it like ducks to water.

“There was definitely a period of two sessions just working it out, and we’re absolutely seeing it come to life this week.

“Obviously, we’ve named a few of the girls who’ve come in to start, a few have come on to the bench. It’s been an unbelievable opportunity to bring some firepower on as the game breaks up. And you can see the telepathy of these players in training.”

It is an exciting start to the 2024/25 campaign for the girls in green, as they are using the visit of the Wallaroos as a springboard to their WXV1 debut in the coming weeks where they will play New Zealand, hosts Canada, and the USA.

These are some of the leading Women’s teams in world rugby, with New Zealand and Canada both currently ranked in the top three. Ireland’s upcoming trip will tell a lot about how they are shaping up ahead of a Rugby World Cup year.

“Now we go to tier 1 and whatever game we put out there is going to have to tolerate higher levels of pressure. As a stepped approach, we are tracking in the right direction towards it,” explained Bemand.

“We’re not naive enough to think it will all be perfect but certainly from how we’ve come in, we are further ahead. I think we are going to accelerate performance quite quickly.

“What does that mean in terms of results, because that’s the big question with elite competitions. We want to be in these competitions, we want to be able to win games.

“We’ve got to be able to fire shots because if we don’t, we’re not going to be able to win games. We’d love to come back having put some winning performances out there.”

Ireland were last in action in April, putting together two wins out of three during the closing rounds of the Guinness Women’s Six Nations. Their most complete performance came in Cork where they outscored Wales by five tries to one.

They hung tough against Scotland at Kingspan Stadium where Dannah O’Brien’s 73rd-minute penalty secured a 15-12 victory, and the double prize of qualification for the 2025 World Cup in England, and entry to WXV’s highest tier.

“Do we want to win? Yes, but realistically we go after performance. We want to be further ahead than we were. This is an exciting opportunity, playing Australia at home in the 150th Anniversary game.

“We’ve come in at a higher starting point (than last year), the entry point of what players can do and what we can put out on the park.

“Australia are a good team. They’ve got a strong background of touch footy over in Australia so they are an incredibly talented passing team.

“We’ve seen what they can do on the Sevens pitch, so playing a game based on movement and strategy and thought. We’re not expecting anything different this time.”

Coached by Joanne Yapp, the former England scrum half and captain, Australia are ranked fifth in the world – four places above Ireland – and lost 62-0 to New Zealand in Brisbane last time out, in July’s Laurie O’Reilly Cup match.

They faced Ireland’s three upcoming WXV1 opponents in this year’s World Rugby Pacific Four Series, losing to Canada (33-14), the USA (32-25), and New Zealand (67-19) respectively.

The Wallaroos did taste victory in early July when they gave Fiji a 64-5 beating in Sydney. NSW Waratahs winger Desiree Miller scored a record-equalling four tries in that game, and will don the number 11 jersey against Ireland on Saturday.

Only Cliodhna Moloney and Eimear Considine were involved the last time Ireland played Australia, which was during the 2017 Rugby World Cup when Ireland won the teams’ pool clash (19-17) but lost the 5th-8th place play-off (36-24).

With Méabh Deely nursing an ankle injury, Considine has made an inspirational return to the current Ireland squad, initially coming in as injury cover but now earning a start at full-back against Yapp’s side.

Considine last played Test rugby during the 2022 Six Nations, and went on to give birth to baby Caolán in January 2023 before suffering an ACL injury the following August. Now back to full fitness, her 26 caps’ worth of experience is a valuable asset for Ireland.

“Eimear is safe as houses and then the athlete that she is, she’s got a run threat, she can kick with both feet,” noted Bemand.

“She can pass, she can distribute, she can pick off edges. An absolutely wonderful player and she has been through some experiences. She obviously had a big knee injury, she’s experienced motherhood.

“This is a brilliant opportunity for us. I think Australia were probably a little unlucky to miss out on WXV1, but they have been at that level for a good while. We’re going to have to get used to playing this calibre of opponents.

“We’ve got a few new caps coming through here but there’s a group of girls for whom the last game they played in an Irish shirt was winning a game against Scotland. I’m optimistic that we will see a performance that will make the Irish public proud.”