That was also the last outing – until now – in the 15-a-side code for Stacey Flood, who is named on the bench tomorrow along fellow 7s compatriots Erin King, Emily Lane and Eve Higgins. The latter was a regular starter under Bemand during this year’s Six Nations Championship and while it can take some players time to readjust after an intense period of 7s action, Bemand is confident it won’t be a major concern for Ireland’s returning Olympians.

“I think Sevens has grown, it has evolved. A good while ago there would have been a definitive 7s style. If you look at how people attack and defend now, the systems have become advanced. I’ve always believed that 7s is an absolutely outstanding tool for developing players. For everything you can say might be a nuance or a problem, there’s an opportunity with it,” Bemand remarked at a pre-match press conference yesterday.

“We’ve just come off the training paddock now and we’ve seen some of the 7s girls, from the 22, rip it to an edge and go the length and score. We’ve had two really, really good training weeks in terms of what it has been like to come from a 7s pitch to a 15s pitch. Everything I’ve seen so far, they’ve taken to it like ducks to water.”

Joining Murphy Crowe in the back-three for tomorrow’s game is another player who last appeared for the Ireland 15s team more than two years ago. Due to a combination of injuries and the arrival of her son Caolán into the world, Clare woman Eimear Considine last donned the green jersey in a fourth round defeat to England in the 2022 edition of the Six Nations – an encounter that saw her sustaining a medial collateral ligament injury.

She recently returned to competitive fare for Munster in the Women’s Interprovincial Championship after a lengthy lay-off – this time because of an ACL issue – and after initially being drafted into the squad as cover for Meabh Deely, she has forced her way into the starting line-up at full-back for the visit of Australia to Ravenhill.

On the opposite side of the fence as England’s lead coach when she last represented Ireland on the international stage, Bemand said that Considine has fully merited her inclusion for tomorrow’s game.

“She has been brilliant, absolutely brilliant. She’s safe as houses and then the athlete that she is, she’s got a run threat. She can kick with both feet. She can pass, she can distribute, she can pick off edges.

“Eimear has earned her opportunity. It’s absolutely brilliant to be able to get her back into an environment that she left a while ago. I was actually there when she got hurt, on the other side of the coaching bench. Everything we’ve done, everything we’ve seen with her, from capability to experience, she’s adding a massive amount to the environment.”

In addition to Aoife Dalton and Cork’s Enya Breen linking up in the Irish midfield, Molly Scuffil-McCabe will join forces with accomplished place-kicker Dannah O’Brien at half-back.

Niamh O’Dowd, Neve Jones and Linda Djougang are Bemand’s front-row for the visit of the Wallaroos to these shores, while Old Belvedere star Ruth Campbell will make her debut in the second-row alongside the vastly-experienced Dorothy Wall.

Edel McMahon captains the side from a back-row that also includes Aoife Wafer and Ulster stalwart Brittany Hogan and with Cliodhna Moloney, Siobhan McCarthy, Christy Haney and Fiona Tuite joining the aforementioned 7s quartet on the bench, Bemand has strong options amongst his match day 23.

IRELAND: E Considine; V Elmes Kinlan, A Dalton, E Breen, A-L Murphy Crowe; D O’Brien, M Scuffil-McCabe; N O’Dowd, N Jones, L Djougang; D Wall, R Campbell; A Wafer, E McMahon, B Hogan.

Replacements: C Moloney, S McCarthy, C Haney, F Tuite, E King, E Lane, E Higgins, S Flood.