'We need to start turning over teams that are in the top two or top three'

WHILE WINNING THEIR three home fixtures is a major priority for the squad ahead of their latest campaign in the Women’s Six Nations, assistant coach Denis Fogarty has stressed that delivering performances against the tournament’s big two will also be a key focus for Ireland in the coming weeks.

In addition to facing Italy (18 April) and Wales (9 May) at Galway’s Dexcom Stadium and Affidea Stadium in Belfast respectively, Ireland are also set to close out the Championship with an historic standalone encounter with Scotland at the Aviva Stadium on 17 May.

Yet Scott Bemand’s charges will begin their 2026 odyssey with a visit to world champions England at Twickenham Stadium this weekend and there is also a showdown against France at Stade Marcel-Michelin, Clermont pencilled into the diary for 25 April.

During their clashes in both the Women’s World Cup and the Six Nations last year, Ireland were extremely competitive against a French side that have been the main challengers to an all-conquering England in the latter tournament in recent times.

This is something Fogarty and his fellow coaches are hopeful of building on.

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“The three home games are really, really important. Obviously, the occasions as well. So they’d be really important for us, but we’ve also spoken about how we need to start turning over teams that are in the top two or top three,” Fogarty remarked at the IRFU’s High Performance Centre yesterday.

“That’ll be really, really important for us and getting a performance there is going to be crucial for us and in our growth. We’ve spoken about moving the dial on those teams and you would have seen that in the French game in the quarter-finals. So we’re getting there, but we need to keep the foot on the pedal now.”

Ireland’s opening round showdown with England at Twickenham on Saturday (kick-off 2.25pm) is set to be a landmark occasion regardless of how the game itself pans out. With over 70,000 tickets already sold for the contest, it will set a new record attendance for the Women’s Six Nations – surpassing the 58,498 spectators that saw England taking on France at the same venue in the closing round of the 2023 Championship.

This could make it a daunting fixture for Ireland, but there will be a great sense of familiarity within their ranks once the action gets underway in Twickenham this weekend. Aside from the fact Ireland head Scott Bemand previously served as lead coach of the England team, 11 of the 36 players that he selected in his original squad for the Six Nations ply their trades within Premiership Women’s Rugby over in England.

Although the majority of the Ireland set-up are still based domestically, Fogarty sees it as a positive that a number of the squad are encountering England’s players on a regular basis at club level.

“It has been brilliant and they’ve played a lot of rugby as well, which is a positive. Getting players like that back into the camp, they’re senior players now and they’ve a lot of experience, both on and off the field, with this.

“So it’s hugely positive. They’ve enjoyed their time, but they’re getting back to work with this real pep in their step now and getting stuck into it. It’s all been very good. High energy and very much an exciting place.”

Despite having just seven caps to her name at 15s international level – albeit she was previously part of the Ireland Women’s 7s programme – it is Erin King who is set to lead this group of Irish players into battle for the 2026 edition of the Six Nations.

Absent from last year’s World Cup owing to a knee injury she sustained when Ireland suffered a Championship defeat to England at Virgin Media Park in Cork almost exactly 12 months ago, King is expected to play a significant role from the back-row in the coming weeks.

Although he works closely with her from a purely rugby perspective, scrum specialist Fogarty also spoke highly about the type of character King is away from the field of play.

“She’s someone definitely on the field, when you look at her, she’s a real competitor. She is a fighter. She’s someone you want to get behind. You want to follow her into things. I think she’s really led from the front and I expect to see that on Saturday,” Fogarty added.

“Off the pitch, then, how she speaks and how she gathers people around. She thinks about the game quite a bit and thinks about the whole atmosphere of what we’re all getting after. Which is really important. So it’s an exciting time for her. She’s been brilliant.”