Edel McMahon: Ireland focusing on themselves ahead of second Japan clash
Although she is wary of facing an opponent with a point to prove, Edel McMahon insists an inward focus is the best policy for the Ireland women’s rugby team as they look to secure a series victory against Japan in Tokyo on Saturday.
Having overcome a difficult start to comfortably dispose of the Japanese challenge in Fukuroi City last weekend, Greg McWilliams’ charges are now looking to sign off on an historic summer tour with a second test triumph at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium (kick-off 11am Irish time/7pm local time).
The hosts will undoubtedly be looking to restore pride after suffering a convincing 57-22 defeat on home soil the last day out, but McMahon believes there is still scope for Ireland’s game to evolve.
“There’s 100% a couple of things they’ll be kicking themselves that they let go. I’ll definitely be expecting a well-drilled Japanese side with a lot of tweaks to their game. We’re worrying about ourselves I guess as well and hopefully bringing a couple of new things to the front,” the openside flanker remarked from the squad’s hotel base.
“This trip is a development trip for us and again [it’s about] trying new things. Trying new combinations. Yes, we’ll look at what Japan will probably tweak and we’ll notice what they should have done on Saturday, but the emphasis will be on what we want to do. To do better than Saturday.”
While her injured international colleague and fellow Kilmihil native Eimear Considine was back in the TG4 studios awaiting a TV signal to emerge from overseas, McMahon was a helpless bystander for the majority of a frantic opening to last Saturday’s first test. Temporarily withdrawn owing to a blood injury, the Japanese had developed a 15-0 cushion by the time the Exeter Chiefs star resumed her on-pitch duties.
Despite her frustration at being sidelined when Ireland were coming under severe pressure, McMahon was able to relay some key messages upon her return that helped the visitors to ultimately stem this early tide.
“I had to unfortunately wait for the water break to get back onto the pitch, so I was edging to get on a bit sooner. The key message was just to relax and stay calm. One of our biggest things was connection off set-piece, in both attack and defence. Japan had the ball for the majority of those 10-15 minutes.
“We just hadn’t gotten into the game quite yet and the minute we had the ball, we just moved up the pitch. Playing in the right areas, we were a lot more clinical. We just played phase by phase and we didn’t look too far beyond the next five or 10 minutes.
“That was my main message. Just to stay calm, stick to the plan and work on tightening up those connections. Once we did that we were firing then.”
When you consider they went on to record nine tries in an eventual 35-point win, it proved to be a deeply satisfying day’s work for McMahon and her Irish team-mates. However, the Clare woman recognises the importance of backing up that performance with another successful outing in Tokyo on Saturday.
“The trip in itself is quite historic, the first trip away. We did speak about, once is luck, but twice is affirmation. That’s what we want to be aiming towards. We don’t want it to be just a one-off win. We want to come home with two wins. Two really good wins and performances that we’re very proud of. That’s what we’re looking for this weekend,” McMahon added.