Ireland can compete for a Women's Six Nations title within "three to five years", according to Gillian McDarby, the IRFU’s head of women’s performance.
Last champions in 2015, Ireland missed out on World Cup qualification in 2021 and finished at the bottom of the table in this season’s Six Nations.
Currently without a permanent head coach in the wake of Greg McWilliams' departure, the union, beset by off-field controversies for the last two years, expects to fill the role within a couple of months.
Speaking at a Women in Rugby briefing yesterday, McDarby was asked what was a realistic time target for Ireland to win the Six Nations.
"It's certainly not a case that Cliodhna Moloney is being silenced by the IRFU for speaking out. That’s the not the case, certainly..." pic.twitter.com/DUhnZvyAom
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) May 10, 2023
"You’re probably looking at three, four, five years," she said.
Asked if the vacant position would be attractive to top coaches, she added: "It'll be a challenging role, given everything that's gone on.
"If somebody wants a challenge, absolutely. It'll be a high-profile role given that the game is growing and growing.
"We want somebody who can make a mark and make a difference.
"We want to get the best candidate that's out there. That's the straight answer."
Ireland still have a huge gap to close to the likes of England and France, who played out their Grand Slam decider in front of almost 60,000 fans at Twickenham.
"Of course. Of course it is," said IRFU CEO Kevin Potts when asked about targetting something similar in Ireland.
"I spoke to my counterparts in England and France about how wonderful an occasion it was.
"The nature of the audience, there was very little alcohol sold but loads of things in the shops. It was a totally different audience, with families and children. A wonderful spectacle.
"That is, of course, our ambition, and maybe in years to come we'll have a full Aviva Stadium, playing against England with a competitive team.
"We work together very closely, the six unions, to share all of the learnings - positively and negatively - amongst us.
"Because ultimately, it's in England and France's interest that Ireland, Scotland and Wales are competitive. Any ways they can assist us, they're willing to do so. It's great and it's the way the game should be."
McDarby, who was appointed in August, also revealed that she planned to talk to the FAI about how Vera Pauw helped to deliver a first-ever World Cup qualification for the women’s national football team but has not yet studied in detail their model for success.
"They’re doing an unbelievable job and that hasn’t happened overnight," said McDarby at the briefing where it was also confirmed that next season’s Women’s All-Ireland League will remain a nine-team division with the sides playing at 16-game regular season.
"This is the first time they’ve qualified for a competition like a World Cup. They haven’t even qualified for Euros so they’ve done an unbelievable job. So yes, Vera Pauw has made a huge change, however, it has taken time.
"She’s still using the domestic league here to talent spot and bring domestic players in and those players because of the domestic league are actually getting to play in the English Prem. So the domestic league is doing something right.
"To answer your question, have I actually sat down with somebody in the FAI? No, not yet. Will I? Absolutely, yes."
Ireland’s Sevens squad are in Toulouse for the final round of the World Series and Olympic qualification is very much on for the women’s team, who currently sit in an automatic qualifying place.
McDarby acknowledged the difficulty of balancing the aspirations of both codes, whilst splitting small pool of players.
"It’s quite challenging because we have a small depth of players," she said.
"I suppose this year in particular was difficult because of the strategic objectives of both.
"This weekend the girls have a huge chance of qualifying for the Olympics and that would be an unbelievable achievement and that there itself would attract players into the system.
"If girls can see that if they can pull on a jersey and represent Ireland at the Olympics we’re just going to have girls then actually aspire to be part of that.
"And going into that university system within the new pathways, that again is going to elevate the game because again, they’re going to see the competition.
"We’re actually going to set up competition structures within the universities, where we attract players into the system as well.
"So, bit by bit we’re putting layers on, we’re incrementally building this and we’re developing our pathways and aligning everything to make sure that we actually do get better."
Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow Leinster v Munster via our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app, watch live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player, or listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.
Follow Stormers v Connacht via our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app, or listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.
