Six Nations column: 'Le Mans welcomes an Irish team who are on a mission to put many things right'

Ding ding! Round one!

Finally, it’s here! Thanks to our friends over in the men’s rugby department for providing a wonderful curtain raiser for this year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations. I have to admit, when the tournaments decided in 2022 to go their separate ways on the fixtures calendar, I was slightly disappointed that we wouldn’t share the hype of welcoming the Scots, Welsh or Italians to town on the same weekends as the men, the u20s and the supporters.

However, as the standalone tournaments have progressed, I have found fewer and fewer reasons to look back on how it used to be. The tournament continues to grow its own fanbase, its own following and its own hype year after year and I am here for it!

With Guinness taking on the main title sponsor role of the women’s tournament, will we see more world record-breaking attendances just like in 2023? When France came to Twickenham last year, 58,498 fans did so too in what has been the highest-attended women’s game of rugby ever. This year the home of English rugby will attempt to top that once again when Ireland come to town on the 20th of April.

It won’t be a Grand Slam decider like fans were blessed with last year, but with ticket sales already climbing, it’s looking very possible.

France has the honour of hosting Le Crunch in the final round this year and, who knows? Maybe it will be their turn to be the undefeated team in this year’s championship and regain the title for the first time since 2018. With a fiery second half from the visitors to Twickenham last year, and a final score of 38-33, it will certainly not be one to miss. Alas, there’s plenty of rugby to be played before then.

The first taste of it in Le Mans when France host Ireland on Saturday. Known more so for its car racing track than its rugby stadiums, Le Mans welcomes an Irish team who are on a mission to put many things right after a few turbulent Six Nations tournaments; but they arrive with a new sense of purpose and confidence after emerging victorious from WXV3 tournament in October.

It will also be head coach Scott Bemand’s first Six Nations in green, even though he is not unfamiliar with the competition. Former attack coach for the notorious Red Roses, Bemand comes into the side with high expectations and high standards but not without the challenge of working with players who hold a much lower professional status than his previous player group.

Searching for wins might not necessarily be the first point on the agenda for Bemand’s side, even though avoiding the wooden spoon would mean securing qualification for the 2025 Rugby World Cup.

What a fantastic achievement that would be for Ireland who heartbreakingly missed out on qualification for the 2021 tournament held in 2022. However, if this young side can put together some good performances by squeezing teams to narrow scorelines, kicking tactically, gaining territory, keeping possession and scoring some good team tries, then Bemand’s first Six Nations outing could be deemed successful. If they manage to snag a W in any of their three home fixtures then it would be a progressive cherry on top of a progressive cake.

Bemand has some luxuries in his squad. For example, co-captains Edel McMahon and Sam Monaghan, who both play in the English Premiership Women’s Rugby and are fantastic leaders who are guiding this team where they want to go. So far in their new role, they have only encountered success when they beat Kazakhstan and Colombia and dug their heels in for a win against Spain.

Their experience will ensure that this Irish group will know how to stick together when things aren’t going so great and they’re not running in tries for fun. Given the low numbers of caps amongst the squad in comparison to the other Six Nations teams, good leadership and management will be key to guiding this squad on their journey.

Other examples of the aforementioned luxuries include: Neve Jones, who made the most tackles out of any player in the 2023 tournament; current sevens squad stars Béibhinn Parsons, Eve Higgins and Aoibheann Reilly who recently took gold at the HSBC Sevens World Series event in Perth and are on track to represent Ireland at the Olympics in Paris; and an extensive management squad which is bigger than it’s ever been to assist the head coach in his project with this team.

As things are starting to look up for this Irish team we have to be patient with their progress. I’m excited for their potential and I’m looking forward to seeing some of the young players returning to the pitch who are constantly growing and finding their groove.

These young players have to be the key to Ireland’s journey over the next number of years. We’ve got to see the likes of Brittany Hogan, Linda Djougang, Enya Breen, and Dannah O’ Brien to name just a few, hit milestones in the next few seasons.

The disparity in the number of caps between Ireland and other nations is stark. With 32 caps Djougang is the most capped player. In England, she would still be considered a young’un. In fact, each of the other 5 nations has players exceeding 50 caps and some even 100. Time alone cannot change these numbers for Ireland. Trust, confidence and positive growth are all essential ingredients in the change we want to see in Irish women’s rugby.

France awaits the Irish team with also a young leadership group. Manae Feleu holds on to her new role as captaincy after her first task in charge at WXV1 last year. They had a highly interesting run in the tournament in New Zealand in October where they beat the hosts and current world champions, the Black Ferns, before going on to lose to Australia and Canada.

Despite the excitement of a potential grand slam showdown with England in Bordeaux in the final fixture, they are determined to take it one step at a time. They are a squad with massive potential if they can only keep consistency throughout those steps.

The first one being, overcoming Ireland in the first game on Saturday at 14.15 (GMT). Wales host Scotland in Cardiff at 16.45 (GMT) and finally, England travel to Parma for the Sunday fixture at 15.00 (GMT).

Here’s to a wonderful tournament! Happy Six Nations everyone!