“We’re a better team than we were.”
Comparing this Ireland to the one which shipped nearly 90 points to England last year, head coach Scott Bemand was stating the obvious. In the 2024 Six Nations, Ireland lost by 21 points to France while also falling to Italy at home. This time around, they narrowed the French margin to 12 before sticking a half-century on Italy in a dominant win.
The hope, as far as Bemand is concerned, is that Ireland’s improvement also translates to Saturday’s visit of England to Cork. Last time these two sides met, the English racked up 88 points to Ireland’s 10. It’s inconceivable that those in green can be that poor once again.
While the gap is narrowing on the scoreboard, metrics below the surface are also improving. In different ways. In their two games to date in this year’s Six Nations, performances which have largely seen praise head Ireland’s way, they have played in a vastly different manner. Both game plans reflect how Ireland is a better team than the day of that Twickenham shellacking.
Which version will turn up in Musgrave Park this weekend, and which will be better equipped to fire a shot against the English juggernaut? In a World Cup year, Saturday will tell us plenty about which style of play Ireland might use as they build towards going on a run at the showpiece event.
Against France in Belfast last month, Ireland focused on being hard to beat rather than utilising their wider attacking threats. Ireland kicked more often than they subsequently did against Italy. Forwards coach Alex Codling set up a strong lineout, their 95 per cent success rate dwarfing last year’s Six Nations figure of 61. The scrum, while under pressure, did not see any ball lost on an Irish put-in.
All three Irish tries on the day came from the maul, Codling and company engineering clever moves to get the ball in the hands of Ireland’s best carrier, Aoife Wafer.
An early Aoife Dalton line break aside, Ireland’s wide threat was minimal. This despite the presence of Aimee-Leigh Costigan, one of the best finishers on the sevens circuit, on one Irish wing. Dalton and Eve Higgins were too often asked to carry into heavy French traffic. The stats show wing Anna McGann made two line breaks off nine carries, but the effect these had in real time was limited.
Does this suggest that Ireland were well coached into a conservative game plan which didn’t allow France to run riot? In other words, damage limitation. Missed tackles (85 per cent success) and several kicks-out on the full undid plenty of the good work.
If Ireland did want to play more, 32 handling errors killed those aspirations. Only two forwards, Wafer (3) and Erin King (1), beat any French defenders. When the ball went wide to Ireland’s speedsters, there wasn’t the space required for them to thrive.
Fast forward a week to Parma and Ireland took the handbrake off. McGann notched a hat-trick on one wing, Costigan showing her clinical edge with a brilliant, footwork-laden finish on the other. They made fewer carries against Italy than France (131 vs 149), but still had more post-contact metres (391 vs 339), line breaks (9 vs 6) and, arguably most crucially, tries scored by backs (5 vs 0). The forwards laid the platform, beating 11 defenders, five of those by Wafer alone.
Ireland also kicked less often out of hand against Italy compared to France (25 vs 31), but for almost the identical yardage (831.7m vs 832.5m). They had a similar territorial output while increasing their attacking quality.
Italy’s poor display certainly adds a caveat. The game’s first tackle led to an Italian being carded for a high shot. The gung-ho backline defence from a side already down a player gave Higgins some of the more simple line breaks she’ll have in her international career. Yet Ireland were better able to take those opportunities than against France – the handling errors dropping from 32 to 24 – while showing a greater willingness to do so.
Which Ireland will show up this weekend? Against a better team, will they revert to a more kick-heavy plan, with a greater focus on the maul and a dwindling return for the backs? Or, after two games of adapting to international intensity, does an improving skill level allow for the best of both worlds?
In their last half-dozen Six Nations games, compared to their attacking output, Ireland kicked most often against England last year. They entered the English 22 just four times. Their wings that day were Beibhinn Parsons and Katie Corrigan. Parsons made just two carries, Corrigan didn’t register a single attacking statistic.
Ireland went with the narrow, conservative option but couldn’t match England’s power combined with their mastery of the basics. The home side made a staggering 723 post-contact metres and 24 line breaks, while Ireland secured barely over half of their lineout ball.
“Last year we managed to get a scrum penalty and win a maul in their 22 and get a penalty try,” says Bemand of that English outing. “We know we can get pressure on them. We know there’s a challenge to stand up to and, if we can get enough of those moments, we can keep the score ticking.”
Based on the above numbers, focusing on utilising an improving lineout maul might not be the way to go. Ireland almost certainly won’t win, but finding a way of employing the backline threats which shredded through Italy may well be the best way of coming close to landing a body blow on Saturday.
Two games is a limited sample, but playing France ensures the following numbers carry some weight. Compared to last year’s Six Nations, 2025 has seen Ireland improve in metres gained per match (441 vs 415), average line breaks (7.5 vs 4.4), tackle success (87.9 per cent vs 84.9 per cent) and breakdown steals (3.5 vs 1.6).
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Bemand is right that Ireland are undoubtedly a better side now. They have improved using varying styles. Perhaps the French conservatism came from the Celtic Challenge’s inability to prepare players for international intensity. Now, with 160 international minutes under their belt, can Ireland combine a more resolute set piece with the ability to create gaps out wide?
The answer to that question won’t, given the gulf in class, have a bearing on this weekend’s result. It might, though, be the difference between Ireland reaching a World Cup semi-final or a gallant, yet frustrating, quarter-final defeat later this year.
