‘Believing Is One Thing, Doing Is Another’ – McMahon

Ireland squad captain Edel McMahon feels that Saturday’s three-try performance against France is further evidence that the team are heading in the right direction.

Ireland (sponsored by Aon) fought back from a 14-point first-quarter deficit in Belfast, with tries from powerhouse number 8 Aoife Wafer (2) and vice-captain Neve Jones closing the gap to just two points.

Unfortunately for the hosts, some ‘little switch-off moments’ proved costly according to McMahon, as France, who were restored to 15 players following Gabrielle Vernier’s red card, finished the stronger to claim a 27-15 win.

Giving her reaction afterwards, McMahon said: “Incredibly proud of where this team has come from because we spoke all week about going after those tier 1 nations and competing with them, and actually have we bridged that gap?

“Today was an effort and show that we are up there and capable of beating those teams. But I can’t lie, there’s a little bit of frustration that we let that one get away.”

Scott Bemand’s side put themselves in position to strike for victory at Kingspan Stadium, with their well-drilled maul delivering second-half scores for Jones and Wafer, albeit that Dannah O’Brien missing a kickable conversion to make it 17-all with 13 minutes remaining.

They had been let down by some unforced errors during the opening 40 minutes, as penalties and kicks out on the full invited France forward. The visitors made the most of the possession and territory, working Vernier and co-captain Marine Ménager over for tries.

Ireland are no strangers to coming from behind in games, having memorably erased Scotland’s seven-point second-half lead at Kingspan Stadium last March, and trailed four times against New Zealand, and twice against the USA, before winning those WXV1 encounters.

Asked about what was said at the break as they looked to fire back at les Bleues, McMahon, a 55th-minute replacement for Brittany Hogan, replied: “Just about back-field cover and just a couple of ones, hitting the deck and not playing in our area of the field.

“A few penalties went astray and put pressure on us, and trying to get out of our 22. Our game-plan was working and to stick with it, up the tempo and go after it. Just sticking with the same game-plan.”

Despite the girls in green falling short of a winning start to the Guinness Women’s Six Nations, it must be remembered that France are ranked fourth in the world and that they have finished as runners-up in the last five editions of the Championship.

Ireland last beat the French in 2017 and were on the end of heavy defeats in 2019 (47-17), 2021 (56-15), 2022 (40-5), and 2023 (53-3), before last year’s losing margin of 21 points in Le Mans when Wafer was also a try scorer.

Compared to those losses in recent years, McMahon and her team-mates were much more competitive and right in the contest against their Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz-coached opponents, but she said there were ‘mixed emotions’ given how the scoreboard finished up.

“When the whistle went, we were all disappointed. It was a game where we were in, we knew we could compete in and actually win,” commented the 30-year-old flanker.

“That is really satisfying to see that’s where we’re at as a squad. We’re not complacent to think, ‘Ah, that looks alright, oh we’ve competed’. We’re actually there to win games. There’s a frustration with that.

“But on the flip side, I’m extremely proud of the girls because we set out in this campaign to be hard to beat, to fire shots and compete with tier 1 nations, and we did that today.”

One of the best aspects of Ireland’s play was their lineout, as all three of their tries stemmed from the set-piece, and between Jones and her replacement Clíodhna Moloney, 18 out of 19 throws were won.

Alex Codling came on board as forwards coach at the start of the season, making a big impact at lineout time during the WXV1 campaign, and the Irish pack continue to make strides. Having ranked bottom for lineout success (61%) in last year’s Six Nations, it is a significant turnaround.

“It’s a big investment,” McMahon said of their lineout improvements. “Come Vancouver time (for WXV1), ‘Codders’ (Codling) came in to do the lineout, so we spent a lot of hours and a lot of work trying to revolutionise our lineout. It was very, very good today.

“There’s huge belief in the group that we have the composure to stay in the fight. We knew the game-plan was working and that gave us belief that we were in this game.

“Set-piece was working well, and lineout was absolutely excellent and got us on the front foot. You have elements of the game working well and you know that you’re in it.

“You know you’re not a mile off, so the belief stays high, and you just have to work your way back up the pitch and take the scores as they come.”

McMahon was part of a six-two bench split for the Six Nations opener, coming on near the hour mark alongside fellow forwards Moloney and Fiona Tuite, and scrum half Aoibheann Reilly, who made her 15s international return following an ACL injury.

Sevens star Amee-Leigh Costigan got to captain Ireland in a Test match for the first time, and had vice-captain Jones in the thick of the action up front, before McMahon came on to lead the team during the closing stages.

The Kilmihil native, who co-captained Ireland last year alongside currently-injured lock Sam Monaghan, praised the winger and hooker’s leadership qualities, saying: “Leigh is just a leader in her own right.

“A lot of people were asking how I helped her out – you don’t need to help Leigh, she’s a leader in how she carries herself. It was an easy pick for her, the same as Neve.”

Next up for is a trip to Parma which has not been a happy hunting ground for Ireland. They lost there to Italy in 2019 (29-27) and 2023 (24-7), and although they were 15-7 winners of a 2021 qualifier clash with the Italians, they eventually missed out on a Rugby World Cup place.

What will give Bemand’s charges added confidence is parts of their display against France, and the fact that they won twice away in Vancouver last September and October. They will have revenge on their minds too after the Azzurre won 27-21 at the RDS twelve months ago.

“The thing is not to get too ahead of ourselves knowing that we could have won (against France),” insisted McMahon, who won her 31st cap at the weekend and is the joint-fourth most-capped member of the current Ireland squad.

“It’s actually still about showing up. You can talk and talk and talk, but if you don’t action and do, you’re not going to earn it.

“As much as we knew we could have won that game, we still need to make sure we implement that plan. Believing is one thing, doing is another.”

The attendance was recorded as 6,976 as Ireland played for the third time in Belfast in the space of a year. With their only other Six Nations home match against England at Virgin Media Park on Saturday, April 12, McMahon is also hoping to see the Cork crowd out in force.

“It’s amazing. We keep talking about inspiring the nation, and to have, I think, a crowd of seven or eight thousand (here today), it really felt like more.

“The constant screams and cheering that we got throughout the game was amazing. We just hope that people keep coming and keep supporting us, and believe in what we’re doing,” she added.