Béibhinn Parsons won't be fit for Ireland's Guinness Women’s Six Nations opener against France on Saturday, although the Connacht wing is expected to make her return from a broken leg later in the championship.
The 23-year-old broke her leg twice in the space of four months in 2024, first injuring it while playing for the Ireland Sevens team at the Olympic Games in Paris, and she would suffer a similar fate at a World SVNS event in December, shortly after her comeback.
Despite fears she could miss out on the entire Six Nations championship with her rehab, Parsons was named in the extended Ireland training squad last month as she closed in on a return to full training.
And it looks like the wing is on track to feature later in the championship, with defence coach Hugh Hogan suggesting they’re confident she will be in the mix over the coming weeks.
"She’s probably not fit for selection just yet but we do expect her to be fully fit during the tournament," Hogan said, ahead of Saturday’s opening game against France in Belfast (1pm).
"I couldn’t give you an exact date yet but she’s more and more involved in skills and walk-throughs, so she’s having a growing presence in the team at the moment."
And the Irish defence coach had positive updates on two more experienced members of the squad.
"Stacey Flood picked up an [ankle] injury in the Celtic Challenge a number of weeks ago. Unfortunately, she had to have a surgery but she’s just coming back to full fitness now.
"She has been out for six weeks now, and she’s fully fit at the moment. That’s a huge positive. She had an unfortunate injury in a Celtic Challenge but huge credit to our medical staff and to Stacey herself. They’ve worked incredibly hard to give her the opportunity now, which is awesome.
"Clíodhna Moloney picked up a calf injury playing in the PWR [Premiership Women’s Rugby] a number of weeks ago; she’s just coming back to full fitness now."
Saturday’s game against France will be Ireland’s first since the WXV in October, while the majority of the squad have been building towards the championship in the Celtic Challenge, either for the Wolfhounds or Clovers.
This year’s Celtic Challenge was expended to 10 rounds of games, running from December through to early March.
It was a successful competition from a results point of view for the Irish sides; the Wolfhounds won the league from the Clovers in second, but questions have been raised as to how well the championship has prepared the squad for the Six Nations.
The Irish sides were utterly dominant, with their only defeat coming against each other, while the Wolfhounds sealed their title with a 102-0 win against Edinburgh, and the Clovers previously enjoyed a 94-7 win against Brython Thunder last month.
Hogan says management are being realistic in how they assess the competition.
"We have the awareness of what it has given us, which is a really positive and strong training identity.
"So, both teams have trained in the same model and intensity as we do with the national team and supported by national coaches which is a real benefit.
"We’ve also been able to identify what the players haven’t experienced so much of in those games and then we can focus or dial in on those in training here.
"It has given players the chance to work on combinations, to play together, a little bit of learning space to experiment and try things bit, as we get focused on representing Ireland this weekend, we have been able to double down on the areas where maybe they haven’t been able to experience as much and have a need for.
"For example, we’ve been able to play an overload in certain scenarios. So, we might defend against 18 players or conversely attack against 18 players. That’s something we’ve been conscious of trying to challenge the players with, that what they’ve experienced in the Celtic Challenge won’t be what they experience in the first 10-15 minutes against France," he added.
The former Leinster and Scarlets coach doesn't believe the easy nature of the Irish wins in the Celtic Challenge will leave them undercooked heading into a huge year for Irish women’s rugby.
"That’s kind of part of what our remit is, it’s setting the players up to succeed," he said.
"So, we’ve been mindful of the huge positives they have experienced but also what else we need to dial into or really double down on so that we give them the best chance.
"We want to shock the French more so than feel intimidated or shocked ourselves.
"We need to be better than last year and our focus is building upwards. Scott [Bemand] has been in the job a year and a half at this stage and I think when he started off he built a road map of where this Ireland team can get to.
"Truthfully, we are tracking fairly well but we have to keep making progress. We don't want to settle for where we are."
Follow a live blog on Ireland v France in the Women's Six Nations on Saturday from 1pm on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
Listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra with second half commentary also on RTÉ Radio 1 from 2pm
Watch Scotland v Wales in the Women's Six Nations from 4.35pm on RTÉ Player
