Cliodhna Moloney says she is confident that the IRFU has put the right structures in place for women's rugby to have a bright future in Ireland.
The hooker returned to the Irish squad mid-way through the Six Nations in 2024, having been in Test exile since the end of 2021.
Moloney made headlines in November 2021 when she was critical of the IRFU’s then-head of women’s rugby Anthony Eddy, following Ireland’s failure to qualify for the World Cup in New Zealand.
The fallout of that campaign has since led to major changes in how women’s rugby is run, with the introduction of more professional contracts for players and coaches, and an improved give-and-take between the Sevens and XV’s programmes.
Up until the 2024 Six Nations, however, Moloney’s continued absence was jarring.
The Exeter Chiefs hooker was a regular for her side in Premiership Women’s Rugby but remained cast aside from the international game through 2022 and 2023, before she was finally recalled midway through the Six Nations in April, returning for the Round 3 win against Wales in Cork.
The 31-year-old looks set add to her 34 Irish caps in the coming weeks, after being named in Bemand’s squad ahead of next week’s Test against Australia, and the WXV 1 in Vancouver later this month.
And she says the landscape of Irish women’s rugby is now "worlds apart" from where it was three years ago.
"Things are moving at a very fast pace externally and are developing quickly, and that's kind of what's happened in here too," she said.
"Since Scott's come in, the environment in here has changed a lot, and it's definitely worlds apart from when I was last in here, in a good way.
"I'm really enjoying it, and enjoying seeing all the young kids I don't know much about really. I'm finding more about them today and tomorrow, and hopefully on the pitch very soon."
Although Moloney had been out if the Ireland squad for more than two-and-a-half years, her return mid-way through the Six Nations didn't come as a major shock, after both she and Bemand revealed they had discussed the possibility shortly after he took charge.
.@cmoloney3 on her confidence that the IRFU have put the right structures in place for the women's game to prosper in Ireland - with the WXV 1 and the #RWC2025 to come for the national side #rtesport @IrishRugby pic.twitter.com/o7BgYoLXxu
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 2, 2024
And the Galway woman says she wasn’t sure if she would ever get the chance to play for Ireland again.
"I didn’t really think about it too much to be honest with you. You can’t.
"I don’t really know. It was hard to say whether I would or I wouldn’t [return]. I was trying to just focus on being in Exeter and enjoying my rugby down there.
"I don’t know if I’d really come to a conclusion in my head. People were asking me was I going to retire completely or whatever, but I probably hadn’t reached any conclusion to be honest with you. I was just trying to play good rugby, enjoy my rugby down there and enjoy my life a little bit.
"As I said we don’t want to talk about the past too much but it is a world apart from many different programmes I’ve been involved in, and things are moving in the right direction.
"I think the girls have faith in that. They’ve got faith in the systems that are in place around the programme now so that’s really important," she added.
Having been a late addition into the Six Nations squad, Moloney returned for her first full camp this week when the Ireland squad gathered in Dublin ahead of the meeting with Australia on 14 September in Belfast, before a squad of 30 then fly to Vancouver for their WXV 1 games against New Zealand, Canada and USA.
Having won WXV 3 in Dubai last year, Ireland’s third-place finish in the Six Nations means Bemand’s side have skipped up to the top tier of WXV, where they will likely be punching above their weight against the best teams in the world.
And although it may lead to some short-term pain for this Irish side, Moloney is confident they are back on the right path.
"It's evident, inside and out, that things are very different here.
"That's the most important thing, and growing rugby in the right way is the next most important thing. They guys are doing that with the plans they've put together over the next five or six years.
"I think the level of planning is clear. While we’re all off doing our individual pre-season bits, or if the girls are in the Interpros, Scott and his new coaching staff have been working very hard and there has been all sorts of things flying in to us through email and through WhatsApp groups about the plan, in all of the specific areas that we need to prepare for WXV 1 and the for whole calendar year going forward to the World Cup.
"There is a sense that the work is being done and you can come into camp knowing that, if you apply yourself correctly, we will be as well prepared as we can be going to play the best teams in the world in Canada.
"Then it’s exciting, you know what I mean. We feel like the work is being done and we can cohesively move forward when we get into camp, which is really nice."
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