IRELAND WOMEN HAVE announced second row Sam Monaghan and back row Edel McMahon as their new co-captains ahead of the upcoming WXV 3 competition in Dubai.

Previous Ireland skipper Nichola Fryday stepped down from the role and retired from international rugby in July at the age of just 28 after a disappointing Six Nations campaign in which the Irish team lost all five of their games.

Head coach Greg McWilliams left his role by mutual consent in May, with former England assistant coach Scott Bemand named as his successor in July.

Speaking to the media for the first time today, Bemand confirmed Monaghan and McMahon as the new Ireland co-captains, with both players expressing their pride.

“I am extremely honoured to have been asked by Scott to captain this team alongside my friend and team-mate Sam,” said Exeter Chiefs flanker McMahon.

“I feel very proud to represent my country and I am privileged to help lead this group in the WXV3.”

Gloucester-Hartpury second row Monaghan is similarly honoured to take on the role.

“It is such a privilege and honour to captain my country and to do it alongside Edel makes it really special,” said Monaghan.

“We have a really clear goal and some good momentum over the past two weeks with the direction we are heading both off and off the pitch. We can’t wait to get to Dubai.”

Monaghan and McMahon will lead Bemand’s side into the new WXV 3 competition, which pits Ireland against Kazakhstan, Colombia, and Spain next month in Dubai.

Bemand has joined from the England set-up. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

“They’re the right people for the job,” said Bemand, “and they’re the right people for developing their leadership skills within a developing group.”

It’s the start of another new era in Irish women’s 15s rugby under Bemand, who was part of a hugely successful England set-up for eight years, taking in five Grand Slams and two World Cup finals.

Bemand’s 30-woman squad for WXV 3 includes seven uncapped players, while back row Deirbhile Nic a Bháird misses out due to injury.

As he laid out his vision for Ireland, Bemand outlined the importance of next year in qualifying for the 2025 Women’s World Cup in England, with Ireland having missed out on last year’s tournament in New Zealand. Bemand wants his team to be World Cup contenders by 2029 in Australia.

“Having coached against Ireland Women a few times, you’d never doubt the on-pitch heart and grit and graft,” said Bemand of his philosophy for this team.

“We want to capture that but we want to frame it a little bit differently. We want to fire some shots on our terms as well. I’m immensely excited by some of the capability we’ve got within the set-piece, the back five, and some of the running talent we’ve got in the backs. It’s about connecting that up and hopefully putting out a brand of rugby that helps grow the game.

“There’s a responsibility to grow the game within Ireland so the brand of rugby has got to be fast-paced, exciting, and something people want to go and see.”

Bemand said he’s confident that some of the youngsters named in the Ireland squad will “go on to become big, big players for us as early as next year.” 

His backroom staff has been bolstered by the addition of a new ‘culture and leadership lead’ in Sean Ryan, who worked with Munster last season.

Vikki Wall is now with the Ireland 7s. Tom Maher / INPHO Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO

Meanwhile, IRFU head of women’s performance and pathways Gillian McDarby has confirmed that Meath footballer Vikki Wall has been contracted to the Ireland 7s set-up since August.

Ireland 7s have qualified for the Olympics next year and Wall, who has recently been playing Aussie Rules, is making a bid to feature in Paris despite being new to rugby.

“Vikki’s dream is to go to the Olympics,” said McDarby. “She is making great progress and she will get exposed to game time now in development competitions in Elche and Marcoussis.

“We will start to monitor her progress there and whether we bring her into the World Series set-up in Dubai [in December].”

Ireland recently had training camps with Australia and France, with 7s stars Beibhinn Parsons and Eve Higgins now switching across to 15s for the WXV 3 competition next month.

McDarby has also confirmed that the Celtic Challenge competition will include a second Irish team in the 2023/24 season, with Wales and Scotland also adding second sides for an expanded six-team competition. The competition was played for the first time last season with one team from each country.

McDarby added that the Ireland Women’s U20s programme will continue this season after the squad was assembled for the first time ever for a trip to Italy during the summer.

“We will kick off a campaign for the Irish U20s at the end of October and we’ll have a full season plan supporting them, which will lead into a Six Nations festival in June and July of 2024,” said McDarby.

“There’s been great progress in the pathway side of things, the Women’s National Talent Squads are up and running. We now have our six centres of excellence up and running, located throughout the provincial structures within universities.”