CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS HAVE made for grim reading for Ireland Women in recent years.
Since falling short in a 2017 Grand Slam decider with England they have endured a World Cup debacle and tasted victory in just three of the 10 Six Nations outings. Most recently away to Scotland and also at home to Wales and Italy.
The IRFU has taken a long hard look at the women’s game here and the structural work is ongoing to improve the player development pathways through the club scene and provincial level.
However, the top echelon continues to appear beyond Ireland’s reach.
Often in a very real sense as the summer’s Super Series was played out in San Diego among heavyweights USA, Canada, New Zealand, England and France.
Come autumn, the planned Tests took the form of a single match against Wales, who will again provide the opposition ahead of the Six Nations this month in an uncapped warm-up fixture.
Autumn also featured intensive training camps in conjunction with France and Scotland. In the relatively recent history the former could have been presented as a barometer for Ireland. In 2020, there can be no looking beyond the latter.
Scotland are Ireland’s opening Six Nations opponent in Donnybrook on Sunday 2 February and our celtic cousins have been steadily improving under the watch of Philip Doyle – the Dubliner who coached Ireland to their 2013 Grand Slam.
The days of long, long multi-year losing streaks are behind the Scots and although they suffered a losing run in Tests away in South Africa and at home to Japan and Wales, they will arrive in Donnybrook emboldened by their match experience in 2019.
Wales also accounted for Adam Griggs’ side in November, a last-gasp Keira Bevan try denying Ireland a win in UCD and making it back-to-back successes for the Principality against Ireland.
If Ireland can manage to force a win in the opener against Scotland then the outlook will look a whole lot brighter when they welcome Wales to Energia Park a week later. Italy’s sprightly, expansive attacking game helped them to claim a second-place finish in last year’s Championship and Ireland will need to be hitting richer veins of form, limiting the error-count and growing cohesion in attack to avenge last season’s bonus point loss in Parma.
They are the matches that will define Ireland’s Championship and set their confidence levels for September’s crucial 2020 World Cup qualifier.
England and France are simply operating on a different level to their four rivals in this tournament and both represent massively daunting away trips for Ireland in rounds one and five respectively. However, the two behemoths will collide on opening weekend. So Griggs will hope to take advantage if either is caught licking their wounds.
In the performances of the likes of Anna Caplice, Eimear Considine and Cliodhna Moloney it is clear there is talent to work with in the Ireland setup and Leinster continually prove themselves to be a formidable outfit on the domestic scene. But bringing that all together is a challenge that Ireland have not managed to adequately nail since their 2017 World Cup.
The five matches ahead are as good a chance as they’ll get to turn it around.
2020 Women’s Six Nations final standings predictions
France
England
Ireland
Scotland
Italy
Wales
And this is the club that people on here defend. Wonder what religion the dole scroungers from Govan think their top scorer is. Can’t see Kris Boyd being as vocal on this one
@Roberts Mel: That’s a fact! You’d need to have a long hard look at yourself if your support or defend that club in any way, shape or form. Xenophobic bunch of knuckle draggers.
@Roberts Mel: you are just as bad as them you know. Condoning the coin throwing the other day. Always the victim
@Joe: please point our where I condoned the coin throwing? I never even mentioned it! So how did I condone it?
Well done Steve Clarke. Needs more players and officials who aren’t from Celtic calling out that crap for what it is.
@Cian Nolan: the only way anything will ever be done is if players and coaches keep highlighting it to the media. Good on Steve Clarke and Kris Boyd for calling out what he was subjected to last week.
@The Bloody Nine: “Good on Kris Boyd” Haha that’s a laugh.. He’s a bitter Rangers fan that forgets another football club is actually paying his wages. He’s been talking Rangers up all season even though is plays for Killie..
@David Garland: I can’t believe you think sectarian abuse and coin throwing is ok because of what team a guy supports. It’s wrong no matter who it’s aimed at.
@The Bloody Nine: Didn’t see David mention anything about coin throwing or sectarian abuse never mind David saying it was okay for these things to happen. He just made reference to Kris Boyd and how nice of a fella he is.
@Roberts Mel: why is telling me how nice Kris Boyd is? I don’t envisage any scenario where I’ll be meeting the lad so his personality is irrelevant to me, as is who he supports or pays his wages.
@The Bloody Nine: Show me where I condoned coin throwing and show us how Kris Boyd has been a victim of Sectarian abuse? Also my point is Kris Boyd is quick to talk up Rangers telling everyone Celtic are in crisis and they’re is a split in the dressing room while all the time he’s playing for Killie.. As I said he’s a bitter Rangers Fan who never comes out giving out about the sectarian chanting coming from Ibrox..
@David Garland: he was called a fat orange b*****d by the Celtic fans
@Anthony Connery: well they ain’t lying
@David Garland: my apologies David if I misunderstood your comment. However, I can’t see how it’s relevant to my point that the more people experience sectarianism in football the more it needs to be spoken about and highlighted. And that’s regardless of who you play for or support. I’m at a loss as to why you’re arguing with me about this!
Normally at this stage of the comments we’d have someone on blaming the Celtic fans for the huns sectarianism.. With Neil Lennon gone I suppose they have to get someone else to racially abuse.. But clearly Sevco don’t know the meaning of the word “Fenian”
Rte have a lot to answer for the showing of “British” games when the english teams were banned from Europe. I know quite a few lads who are rangers fans from that influence. All rangers games were shown live as a substitute for the uk games.
@Trevor Beacom: any Irish person supporting The Rangers clearly has some sort of mental health problem.
@Ciaran Rice: You get an awful lot of Irish people who will support them out of spite because they can’t get their head around Irish people supporting Celtic, that’s how idiotic some football fans are in this Country.. The same people think nothing of supporting Clubs like Chelsea who we all know love Rangers and the UVF
@Ciaran Rice: Knew a guy at work who used to wear sevco shirt and England one during internationals. Was done purely for attention and the wind-up. Would not go out in public dressed like that, though.
@Ciaran Rice: Yea I know a few Irish Rangers supporters and they ain’t mental.
Ive been a long time Celtic supporter neigh on 55 years and ive witnessed plenty sectarian stuff in the Old “Jungle” which is probably well before your time.
That said Rangers have an ultra toxic lot that are very vocal.
Is Steve Clarke not a Rangers fan.. Can’t understand why they called him that
@ColmD: Clarke and his entire family are Celtic fans.
@Ciaran Rice: I didn’t know that.. Like him even more now..
@Ciaran Rice: Yes he was touted as a Celtic Manager at one point.
@Nick Condon Sen: he’ll be the next Celtic manager when Brendan leaves I’d say.
@Ciaran Rice:
The newest club in Scotland , reminds us all of a previous old one , same sectarian dribble , coming from bitter begrudgers .
Huns
I wonder do Rangers fans watch Braveheart and think” thank god we got William Wallace. Long life longshanks”
Seriously Rangers fans have to be the most confused idiotic bunch.. they havnt the slightest clue of their own national identity or heritage