Scott Bemand doesn't believe Ireland's heavy defeat to New Zealand will have a damaging effect on his side for next week's Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-final against France.
The Black Ferns gained revenge for last year’s shock WXV defeat to Ireland in Vancouver, with a defensive masterclass inspiring a 40-0 win to finish top of Pool C.
New Zealand showed no mercy at the Brighton and Hove Albion Stadium, shutting down Ireland’s attack with ferocious linespeed, while they showed a ruthless streak to score two tries in the final two minutes to put an exclamation mark on their win.
"We knew it was coming," Bemand said. "We knew how New Zealand defend, culturally, we know that they embrace the physical side of the game.
"We know that our ball movement has got to be a bit quicker, so sometimes, at the end of the first half, we got a bit passive, a bit steady with the ball, and then their line speed can get you behind the gainline.
"When we were fast with it, we got the ball to the edge and made some momentum, there were times we caught behind it and times we created opportunities.
"So look, there's bits we can go at, but acclimatising to playing at this speed is a big part of our growth."
As dominant as the scoreline was, Ireland had their fair share of opportunities, and they dominated the opening exchanges of both the first and second half.
At times they looked rattled by the pace and aggression of the Black Ferns, and their case wasn't helped by some careless passing, which saw them constantly move backwards with the ball.
"I think in terms of how we started the game, we created momentum and we created opportunities and if you look back at that I think we’ve just got to be a little bit smarter in how we take points when we’re in the score zone.
"If you look over the last two weeks, we’ve actually been pretty clinical in terms of getting into the score zone and coming away with points. Clearly, a different challenge against New Zealand in the type of athlete and the type of player they’ve got, the physicality they bring.
"The fact we’re getting in there and creating momentum and getting opportunities to get 'ins’ will be something we’ll look at and go ‘OK, we understand we need to do more of that again against another World Cup contender next week’.
"We just need to be a little bit smarter in how we get over the whitewash when those opportunities come."
The Ireland coach sounded optimistic about the chances of Stacey Flood being available to face France. The full-back was carted off with a foot injury in the opening half, while Eve Higgins departed for a head injury assessment, and co-captain Edel McMahon also left with a knock.
"Stacey has got a cut on her foot, so we’ll certainly need to have a look at that and try to get that fixed up as best as we can and as quick as we can.
"Both Eve and Edel have come off but I’m pretty hopeful they’ll come through pretty quickly.
"As I stand here now, with what I know, I’m pretty hopeful that everybody is going to be fit and raring to go next week."
Ireland will have to dust themselves off and travel to Exeter this weekend, where they will take on France in the last eight, after Les Bleues comfortably saw off South Africa to top Pool D.
Ireland head coach Scott Bemand will place an emphasis on improving his side's finishing for the remainder of the tournament pic.twitter.com/tph4rrqGZn
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 7, 2025
And Bemand doesn't feel his players will take long to pick themselves back up.
"I think our girls understand. They spoke really well at the end there and I think they understand that we actually got ‘ins’.
"We haven’t just received New Zealand attacking us, and for the first block of that game we found ins and we had opportunities late in the game when the bench, the finishers came on and brought a little bit of energy that showed we can get back on top.
"We’ve just got to be a bit smarter about how to finish off points when we get into the points zone, if we do that we’ll take it later into the games and that’s where you’ve got to be at the business end.
"I thought the crowd… they’ve been filling Brighton for the past two or three days, it’s been outstanding to see the green wave grow.
"We wanted to give them something and there will be moments they’d be proud of.
"Quarter-final, winner takes all. It’s an exciting opportunity for us and for the Ireland support to get behind them."
