Sinéad Kissane: What constitutes a success for Ireland in a battle already predetermined against England?
Scott Bemand is in a difficult position with the England game
Before the Ireland players got into the meat of their final training session at Twickenham yesterday, head coach Scott Bemand took them on a walk around the inside of the pitch.
He did the same thing the day before they played France at the Stade Marie-Marvingt last month. It looked like scenario-planning, which is no bad thing considering what’s coming.
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Today’s game against England in the Women’s Six Nations will bring all kinds of sensory assaults (we’ll leave half-time entertainer Sophie Ellis-Bextor out of this, thank you very much). There will be an attendance of more than 46,500 – Ireland players have never played in front of a crowd like that before.
Heck, players like Eve Higgins and Aoife Wafer have never even played against England before, never mind all the extras.
Watch: Ireland captain Edel McMahon believes team can rise to Twickenham occasion
The loss of Sam Monaghan is, how do we put this lightly, absolutely huge. Her impact around the pitch and, of course, her presence at the lineout have been immense since she made her comeback for the Italy game. The reintroduction of Aoife Dalton is a good call by Bemand, albeit Enya Breen was excellent against Wales. Dalton was a tackling machine against France and her promotion to the starting team shows Ireland expect more in that department today.
So we ask the go-to line this week: what is success for Ireland in a game where the outcome is as good as predetermined?
They need to absorb the start England will undoubtedly bring as they look to put on a show in front of this crowd. So Ireland need to stay in the fight. Two years ago at Welford Road, Ireland kept England to 10-0 at half-time, although it did finish 69-0.
The final scoreline was 48-0 last year in Cork, so Ireland have to do a better job of containing England today while also avoiding another shut-out. In their fight for third place, the Scotland game in Belfast is also looming. And maybe England might have half an eye on next week’s Grand Slam shootout with France.
Verdict: England
