Renewed Ireland excited for opening Six Nations challenge against France
It is anticipated to be a daunting encounter in a cauldron-like atmosphere, but scrum coach Denis Fogarty believes the Ireland women’s rugby team are more than capable of going toe-to-toe with France in the opening round of the Six Nations Championship later this month.
Stade Marie-Marvingt in Le Mans will be the venue on March 23 for the latest clash between the two sides and there is expected to be somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 spectators in attendance for the game. While Ireland recorded victories over their forthcoming opponents in the 2009, 2013 and 2017 editions of the Six Nations, France have held the upper hand in their more recent meetings.
This includes a round two fixture in Cork during last year’s Championship, but Fogarty has seen enough evidence in the past to suggest the Irish pack – in particular – can cause headaches for their French counterparts.
“There’s no doubt about it, it’s going to be a challenge, but the previous times we would have played against them, we stood up to them up front. In my mind there’s no doubt about it, we’re going to do the very same. We’re excited and I’m excited to see what we can produce that day,” the Tipperary native remarked at a media event yesterday.
Despite a disappointing 2023 campaign that saw them finishing at the foot of the Women’s Six Nations table, Ireland will be approaching the upcoming spring international window with renewed vigour. Thanks to wins at the expense of Kazakhstan, Colombia and Spain, they claimed the inaugural WXV 3 title in Dubai last October to get Scott Bemand’s tenure as head coach off to an encouraging start.
A top-three finish in the upcoming Six Nations – or, alternatively, a strong showing in the second edition of the WXV – would see Ireland qualifying for next year’s Rugby World Cup and Fogarty (a Heineken Cup winner as a player with Munster in 2006) acknowledged this has been marked down as a major target for the squad in 2024.
“I think overall, we said the goal was that we’re going after World Cup qualification. That’s the first and foremost. Then obviously performance. Making sure that we put in a performance that reflects the work the players have done on the pitch. That’s another thing as well that we’re striving for.”
Fogarty’s presence as Ireland women’s scrum coach is fascinating as it means he holds the same role that his brother John currently has with the Ireland men’s rugby team. Yet whereas his elder sibling is full-time in professional rugby, Denis is currently combining coaching with a busy job as a sales manager with Kukri Sports.
He also previously worked as a Regional Development Manager with mobility service provider FREENOW and admits striking a balance between his sporting and professional pursuits can be difficult.
Additionally, Fogarty gained valuable experience as head coach of The Clovers – a side primarily made up of women’s players from Munster and Connacht – during this year’s Celtic Challenge and hasn’t ruled out the prospect of becoming a coach on a permanent basis in the years to come.
“I’m probably at my happiest when I’m on the pitch, involved in rugby and involved in teams. Obviously having a full-time job is difficult, but you have to have that as well on the side,” Fogarty added.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do moving forward, it’s something that I am thinking about. Whether I’m looking at going into rugby full-time and I’ve aspirations to do that. We’ll wait and see. Certainly it’s a balancing act at the moment, but when I’m up here it doesn’t feel like work.”