Fast start key to Ireland hopes, insists Monaghan
They are a side that have caused them plenty of heartbreak in recent times, but co-captain Sam Monaghan remains confident Ireland can get the better of Scotland in the final round of the Women’s Six Nations Championship at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast this Saturday (kick-off 2.30pm).
In just her third international test appearance, Monaghan was part of an Irish team that suffered a last-gasp 20-18 defeat to Scotland at Parma’s Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in September 2021 – a result that ended their qualification hopes for the following year’s Rugby World Cup finals in New Zealand.
Yet before a comprehensive 36-10 reversal away to the Scots consigned them to the wooden spoon on the closing weekend of the 2023 Six Nations, a stoppage-time try and conversion from Enya Breen helped Ireland to squeeze past their Celtic cousins with a single point to spare (15-14) in their previous Championship meeting in Belfast a little under 12 months earlier.
Back then, Ireland were also taking on Scotland in the wake of a chastening defeat at the hands of an all-conquering English side.
Having missed out on selection in Twickenham last weekend when the Red Roses comfortably overcame their Irish counterparts on a final scoreline of 88-10, Monaghan is expected to feature on Saturday as Scott Bemand’s charges aim for a third-place Championship finish and – by extension – qualification for next year’s World Cup finals.
“We’re going there to win. We don’t want it to be as close as that coming into the last minute and having Enya Breen kicking the winner! It’s important we get off to a fast start, get on top of them. The set-piece will be crucial in this game, as every game, and the breakdown.
“They’re big keys we want to hit this week heading into Saturday,” Monaghan remarked at a press conference in the IRFU’s High Performance Centre on Tuesday.
“Last year, we weren’t performing and they came on top of us at the Hive. I’ve played with a lot of those [Scottish] girls in the PWR [Premiership Women’s Rugby], so there’s an expectation of knowing what they’re like.
“They’re organised, but I think if we stick to our game plan and what we’ve been doing in the last few weeks against Italy and Wales, we’ll come out on top. They’ve been rising up so we can’t underestimate them this weekend, but we just need to focus on our performance and how we go out there.”