Having shown they can compete as underdogs, Ireland are in Italy this weekend to prove that they can now win as favourites.
While Scott Bemand's side ultimately left Belfast last Saturday empty-handed after a 27-15 defeat to France, the frustration of how they let the game slip away over the final 10 minutes shouldn't overshadow the further steps of improvement made from the WXV last Autumn.
The Ireland head coach, and his players, struck the right notes immediately after the game. Bemand said his side have no interest in being the "noble losers", with grand plans to close the gap on the Six Nations’ big hitters France and England.
The next step along that journey is to start winning the games that are there to be won.
Ireland haven't beaten Italy since 2022, and they haven’t won a game away from home in the Women’s Six Nations since the 2021 opener against Wales, but they travel to Parma this afternoon looking to put that right and get their World Cup year up and running.
Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi brings back a lot of bad memories for this team. It was the scene of their humiliating World Cup qualifying campaign in 2021 where defeats to Spain and Scotland saw them miss out on the tournament in New Zealand. Eighteen months later, Ireland were stuffed 24-7 at the same venue in Parma (below), the third leg of their wooden spoon 2023 campaign.
The current version of this team are a world apart from that 2023 group, and they’re even considerably ahead of the 2024 side that endured a frustrating loss to the Italians at the RDS 12 months ago.
When the sides met on Easter Sunday last year, Ireland couldn’t match endeavour with execution. On a day where they were utterly dominant, they were undone by 28 handling errors to lose 27-21, the kind of game that hey should have won, but deserved to lose.
The trajectory since then has been steep and upward, with wins against Wales and Scotland enough to secure a third-place finish in the championship, before the exceptional WXV campaign in Canada saw them climb up to sixth in the world rankings, two spots ahead of this afternoon’s opponents.
The biggest leap has come at the setpiece. Ireland's defeat to Italy last year wasn't helped by a struggling lineout which secured just 70% of its own ball, while their average in the 2023 season was a bleak 61%.
That’s in stark contrast to how the lineout functioned in last week’s game against France in Belfast, where they retained 18 of their 19 throws, and used three of those as the foundation for each of their tries, with two rolling mauls and one clever dummy-maul which isolated Aoife Wafer to score their opening try in the first half.
Wafer (below) made her debut against the Italians three years ago in Cork, the last time Ireland were successful in this fixture, and the Wexford woman – who celebrated her 22nd birthday this week – has established herself as one off the best back rows in the game in the last year.
She scored two tries last week, and was Ireland’s standout player on both sides of the ball, making 17 carries, 11 tackles and winning two breakdown steals.
While Wafer is the star name, she’s part of an impressive forward pack that has grown considerably since the arrival of forwards coach Alex Codling last summer, and as well as an improved setpiece, they’ve also become shred operators at the ruck thanks to the input of defence coach Hugh Hogan, who is also well-known for his expertise at the breakdown.
Last week against France, Ireland’s ruck was efficient on their own ball, while also being disruptive without it; 71% of their attacking rucks were won within three seconds, while they slowed down the French, who only won 48% of their ball in that time. Only 2% of Ireland’s attacking rucks were deemed slow (above six seconds), compared to 13% for France.
With an improving setpiece and an efficient ruck, the foundations are there for Ireland to build, but the fluidity of their attack remains a work in progress.
Simple handling errors saw them waste multiple chances in the French 22 last week, while all three French tries came from kicking out on the full, twice from Stacey Flood and once from Enya Breen.
"Twenty one errors, and 14 handling [errors] which resulted in turnover," Bemand (below) said on Thursday, when asked about the handling issues.
"We’re trying to grow our game, so to fire shots against World Cup contenders we need to play more than one-out [rugby].
"Do we work on handling? Absolutely. We created opportunities. From WXV1, we were joint-bottom for line-breaks. We created 6-2 against France. Are we at the point of being clinical and finishing all those opportunities? No, but we are going to commit to learning faster than anyone else.
"It’s something we are working on, and that we will continue stressing and we are only going to get better."
The Ireland coach has stuck with the same 23 players from last week, but has made three alterations to his starting team. Edel McMahon returns in the back row and captains the side at blindside flanker, while Fiona Tuite starts in the second row and Aoibheann Reilly starts at scrum-half, as Brittany Hogan, Dorothy Wall and Emily Lane drop back to the bench.
Italy's opening game against England makes them difficult to read. The Azzurre gave up two tries in the opening six minutes against the Red Roses in York last Sunday, and were 33-5 down at half time. However, it took England until the 78th minute to add to their lead, with Emma Sing’s try rounding out the 38-5 win.
Head coach Fabio Roselli has made six changes to his side for their home opener, with veteran centre Michaela Sillari returning to the side, along with out-half Emma Stevanin.
Hooker Vittoria Vecchini, who scored two tries at the RDS last season, is one of four changes to the pack, with tighthead prop Gaia Maris, flanker Sara Tounesi and number 8 Elisa Giordano all coming in, Giordano captaining the side on her return from injury.
Verdict: Ireland by 10
Italy: Francesca Granzotto; Aura Muzzo, Michela Sillari, Beatrice Rigoni, Alyssa D'inca; Emma Stevanin, Sofia Stefan; Silvia Turan, Vittoria Vecchini, Gaia Maris; Valeria Federighi, Giordana Duca a, 53 caps); Sara Tounsei, Francesca Sgorbini, Elisa Giordano
Replacements: Laura Gurioli, Vittoria Zanette, Sara Seye, Beatrice Veronese, Alissa Ranuccini, Alia Bitonci, Sara Mannini, Beatrice Capomaggi.
Ireland: Stacey Flood; Anna McGann, Aoife Dalton, Eve Higgins, Amee-Leigh Costigan; Dannah O'Brien, Aoibheann Reilly; Niamh O'Dowd, Neve Jones, Linda Djougang; Ruth Campbell, Fiona Tuite; Edel McMahon (capt), Erin King, Aoife Wafer.
Replacements: Clíodhna Moloney, Siobhán McCarthy, Christy Haney, Grace Moore, Dorothy Wall, Brittany Hogan, Emily Lane, Enya Breen.
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