After a week long break to lick our wounds post Italy game, the girls in green are back in action once again this weekend for round three of the Guinness Women's Six Nations.
Scott Bemand named a predominately unchanged side for the Welsh clash, with Edel McMahon returning to replace Grace Moore in the back-row as the previously exiled Cliodhna Moloney takes her seat on the bench.
This decision shows he has tried out different positions in the back-row and Edel McMahon is obviously tried and tested and he knows what she can do. It is probably our strongest back-row there with Edel, Brittany and then obviously the in-form Aoife Wafer who has been fantastic up until this point.
Having the two captains on the field for the first time will also be massive going into this Welsh game and what makes it even better is both captains play their rugby in the Premiership, so they'd play with and against a lot of these Welsh players. This will give the girls an added confidence boost in knowing that they play against them week in week out and have had some tough battles with them.
☘️ v 🏴#GuinnessW6N #IREWAL pic.twitter.com/AUOtsvoMdM
— Guinness Women's Six Nations (@Womens6Nations) April 13, 2024
Irish leadership will be imperative
Leadership was questioned a lot after the Italian game so to have Tricky (Edel McMahon) come back onto the squad is massive and then obviously to have Moloney on the bench will only add to this leadership and confidence.
What Cliodhna Moloney adds as well is it allows us to have the option of moving Neve Jones to the back-row and add strength to our pack. So having the opportunity to have both of them on the pitch at the same time is such a good weapon to have in our forward pack.
Wales are obviously in the same position as we are, going two losses from two. They will think that this is a winnable game for them and given how they have been playing recently it will more than likely be a very tight game. They put up a really good performance against England and in that game we got to see just how impactful their bench is.
Keira Bevan is starting at 9 and she will control the team really well, she made a great impact off the bench in their last game. Looking at their pack in their game against Scotland, they looked really strong especially in their mauls. England managed to curtail that maul so if Ireland can keep it at bay the way England did it could be such a weapon for them. So the addition of Cliodhna Moloney and Edel McMahon into that pack will be huge.
Wales also have Jasmine Joyce back, who they didn't have against England, we've seen in the past just how electric she can be when she gets that ball in hand, she's an excellent attacker but also a really good defender too.
It's a home game this weekend and Ireland will be looking to get that first win on the board but I don't think it is going to be easy. It will require a lot of improvement in relation to the Irish attack and they will need to finish the chances they created against Italy.
Captain’s Run in Virgin Media Park 🫡#IrishRugby #WeAreIreland #GIAT pic.twitter.com/mopcKdSSS0
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) April 12, 2024
"Ireland need their defence right"
We saw in the first game the defence was good, then in the second game we saw that the attack shape was there. What they need to do next is put it all together and make it count when they enter into the Welsh 22. They've gone with a consistent back-line again so it is giving those backs another opportunity and again you'll have the right boot of Enya Breen and the left boot of Dannah O' Brien on the pitch to help clear those kicks. It will open us up to the option of putting pressure down on the inexperienced Welsh full-back.
Overall Ireland need to get their defence right and make the most of their opportunities in the opposition 22 and if they do, they'll beat a Welsh pack but if they play the way they did in round two, Wales will get the upper hand and make the most of those entries into the 22 and they will be very clinical.
It is going to be an unbelievably tough game and so hard to put a score on as it will come down to small margins on the day. But I do encourage everyone to get down to Virgin Media Park this Saturday to cheer the girls on, it is shaping up to being an absolute cracker of a game.
Tickets can be found here.
