Ireland Women Build Up For Belfast Opener

The Ireland Women (sponsored by Aon) have Australia in their sights as they continue to train hard ahead of this weekend’s eagerly-awaited encounter in Belfast.

Ireland v Australia – Buy Match Tickets Here

Scott Bemand’s side kick off the 2024/25 season by welcoming the Wallaroos to Kingspan Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 2.30pm – live on TG4 and TG4.ie). The Test match marks the start of Irish Rugby’s 150th Year celebrations.

Speaking about working with Ireland’s new-look coaching team, Edel McMahon said: “Alex Codling has come in from a lineout perspective, so there’s that leadership there, and he’s done a massive amount of work.

“He’s a great character and I think he really gets the squad and what makes us tick. The work that the girls have done is really sharp.

“The new staff have just added layers onto what we already have in place. We’ve still got the same coaching cues, still going after the same kind of pitch map, and they’re just adding their expertise.

“With Hugh (Hogan), he’s adding more to the breakdown. ‘Codders’ is really helping push on our lineout now again. It’s something we’ll try and use as a weapon, but they’re just building on layers to what we already had.”

Check out photos from Tuesday’s pitch session at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Blanchardstown: