Ireland head coach Adam Griggs will not be looking to the past when his side open their Six Nations campaign against Scotland on Sunday.
Griggs' women welcome the Scots to Energia Park in Donnybrook and he’s expecting a stern test from a team now coached by a man who once occupied his role, Philip Doyle.
Doyle stepped down as Ireland head coach in 2014, having led his country to a Grand Slam and a World Cup victory against New Zealand on their way to a place in the tournament semi-finals.
As well as having a coach that’s more than familiar with the Irish set-up, the Scots have the benefit of knowing what it takes to win in Donnybrook, having done so in 2018, edging out Ireland 15-12.
Despite this, Griggs is confident that Sunday’s game against the only team Ireland beat last year is a 'winnable’ one and called on his side to show a killer instinct against the visitors.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, he said: "You train the whole month of January in preparation for it and now we’re right around the corner so I know the players and the coaching staff are really eager to get going.
"We’re very optimistic about how this season can go. It was tough last year, there were certainly glimpses of what we could do but at the end of the day the results just didn’t come.
"We need to make sure that this season we start off on the right foot and that’s obviously against Scotland on Sunday.
"Looking at the way we play, we need to be consistent and with some of the opportunities we create we’ve just got to make sure we’ve got that killer instinct to put teams away.
"We’re definitely looking at it as a winnable game for us. We have beat them in the past but in saying that they came here two years ago at Donnybrook and beat us as well, so we’re very aware of that.
"But the way we’ve been tracking and what we’re doing as a group, we’re confident going into Sunday."
Doyle, meanwhile, is not keen on letting sentimentality in the way of things as he takes his new team into familiar surroundings.
While the Scotland coach admits that it’s strange to be plotting the downfall of his former charges, he insists that he’s professional enough to not let allow emotion to get in the way.
"There are two sides to it," he told RTÉ Sport. "There’s the emotional side of being an Irishman back in your home country and coaching against your country and then there’s the professional side of things.
"It’s a game of rugby and we must go out and do our best and hopefully win. I’m going to park the personal side, it’s a game of rugby.
"A lot of the girls I used to coach aren’t there any more, it’s a new team. It’s going to be a great game, it’s going to be very close, they’re always very close."
Doyle acknowledges that his side are the underdogs going into Sunday’s game but he believes that the Scots will draw confidence from their 2018 victory in Donnybrook - even if they are far from the finished product.
"They had a great game and that bodes well," he said. "They’re not scared of coming to Dublin, they actually really enjoy playing Ireland because they get such a good game, so it’s all down to our performance.
"It’s going to take time, that’s for sure. It’s like when I was coaching Ireland, it takes time but the goal is the World Cup, we really want to get to the World Cup so badly.
"Let’s just hope that the Scottish and the Irish can get through and wouldn’t that be great for both countries?"
RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player will have live coverage of all of Ireland Women's Six Nations matches in what is a crucial campaign for the team as they try to build momentum towards qualification for the 2021 World Cup in New Zealand.
Coverage begins on Sunday 2 February with Ireland v Scotland live from Energia Park (12.30pm, RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player) when Niamh Briggs and Fiona Steed will join presenter Daire O'Brien alongside Eddie O'Sullivan while Fiona Coghlan joins Des Curran on commentary.
RTÉ Player will carry live coverage of all the other games in the Women's Six Nations kicking off this Sunday (2 February) with Wales v Italy and France v England.
