HAVING PREVIOUSLY SHARED the role with fellow forward Sam Monaghan, the next few weeks will see Edel McMahon taking on sole responsibility as team skipper within the Ireland women’s rugby set-up.

Having been named as co-captains by Scott Bemand upon his appointment as Ireland women’s head coach in July of last year, McMahon and Monaghan helped to guide their country towards the inaugural WXV 3 title in Dubai in the autumn of 2023.

Even though they both missed out on certain parts of the tournament, the UK-based duo featured from the start when Ireland defeated Scotland at Ravenhill on 27 April to earn third spot in the Six Nations Championship and, by extension, qualification for the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.

While McMahon is expected to play a prominent role when Ireland take on Australia in the Belfast venue this Saturday, the ACL injury she picked up playing for Gloucester-Hartpury in last June’s Premiership Women’s Rugby final not only rules Monaghan out of this weekend’s encounter but also the forthcoming WXV 1 tournament in Canada.

Yet despite acknowledging how much of a loss she will be on the field, McMahon said Monaghan’s presence in the Irish camp last week was a major lift ahead of their showdown with the Wallaroos.

“It was great to have her around. There’s full faith that she’s putting her head down and getting herself back fit and ready to come in,” McMahon remarked at a press conference in the IRFU’s High Performance Centre yesterday.

“We even had her dialled in for a couple of our forward sessions, so she’s still part of the core group, adding value where she can and leadership outside of the pitch, and everything that she can do.

“Even from my point of view, we’ve leaders pretty much everywhere across the field. It’s not as lonely as it feels with her gone. Obviously I do miss her, but we’ve a lot of leadership around the team so it’s going well.”

In addition to a plethora of uncapped players being included in the wider playing group, there is also a fresh look to the Ireland coaching team ahead of Saturday’s game – which is set to mark the start of Irish Rugby’s 150th-year celebrations.

While the aforementioned Bemand and scrum coach Denis Fogarty remain from this year’s Six Nations, Alex Codling (forwards coach), Hugh Hogan (defence coach), Gareth Steenson (kicking coach) and Marie-Louise Reilly (World Rugby coach intern) are new arrivals to the backroom set-up.

Additionally, after he had worked alongside both Bemand and his predecessor Greg McWilliams as senior coach of the women’s side, the IRFU have now appointed New Zealander John McKee to a new position within their Women’s High Performance Programme.

Although they are bringing some new ideas to the table, McMahon stressed that the new coaches are building on existing foundations rather than opting to reinvent the wheel.

“The new staff have just added layers onto what we already have in place. We’ve still got the same coaching cues, still going after the same kind of pitch map and they’re just adding their expertise.

“Alex Codling has come in from a lineout perspective, so there’s that leadership there and he’s done a massive amount of work. He’s a great character and I think he really gets the squad and what makes us tick. The work that the girls have done now since I’ve come in is really sharp. They’re looking after that side of things.”

While Lauren Delany and Hannah O’Connor have stepped into international retirement since the conclusion of this year’s Six Nations, an experienced face from the past has returned to the Irish set-up in recent weeks. Despite not being named in Bemand’s initial 35-player selection for the upcoming international window, Eimear Considine was subsequently drafted into the squad as injury cover for Connacht’s Meabh Deely.

A debutant back in 2017, Considine’s most recent appearance for the international 15s side came against England in a Six Nations Championship clash at Welford Road back in April 2022. A knee injury picked up in that game kept her sidelined for a number of weeks and she then enjoyed an extended spell away from rugby due to the arrival of her son Caolán into the world.

An ACL injury had her on the treatment table not long after returning to competitive action in 2023, but following 10 months out of the game, Considine made her latest comeback in the colours of Munster during the recent Women’s Interprovincial Championship.

Given they are both natives of Kilmihil in West Clare, McMahon knows Considine better than most within the Ireland camp. Though she will face stiff competition from those who have featured at test level in more recent times, McMahon revealed that the 33-year-old is doing everything within her power to pick up a 27th Irish cap.

“I know back in Kilmihil, we were back at a football match on Sunday. Everyone was looking for us to tog out and I was like, ‘No, no, she’s gone now, she’s in with us!’

“Obviously the parish is very proud of the two of us representing Kilmihil, but equally proud of her for her journey from baby to ACL and a little set-back then in Interpros. She has been putting her hand up for selection,” McMahon added.

Daire Walsh