Ireland's Second Six Nations Victory Marks Progress
Significant changes have occurred over the past two years for Scott Bemand and his young Ireland squad. When Ireland last hosted Wales, Bemand was seeking his first win as head coach after taking charge of a team that had recently finished last in the Six Nations standings.
Now, two years later, Ireland secured a comfortable victory against Wales, placing them in a solid third position with some breathing room.
"We said at the very beginning [when he became head coach], it was about belief," Bemand said.
"So, when I first came in, the first season was just about getting the girls to believe they could actually be quite good, and giving themselves permission to go and be brave, knowing they can perform under pressure.
"Where that's changed over the two years is now, they know they can be good. So now it's about executing when pressure dials up and dials down."
Ireland 'Starting to Handle Bigger Occasions'
France and England are set to compete for the Six Nations title in the final match next weekend. Although Ireland are not currently challenging these leading teams, they have established themselves as a young and promising squad.
Their recent win over Wales marked their second victory in this campaign, following an impressive 57-20 triumph over Italy, who are currently in fourth place.
"We're starting to handle bigger occasions and bigger pressure more, and with that comes more expectation. But that's the cool thing, that's where we want to be," Bemand continued.
"Our next thing now is we're going to start converting that belief, that confidence, that understanding and that we're quite good into results.
"We'll get there, the trajectory is still up and we're still hungry to get better. So no doubt we'll get there and as quick as we can get there, the quicker the better."
Despite their progress, Bemand acknowledged that there is still room for improvement.
Ireland have yet to defeat France or England, and the head coach emphasized that this remains a key objective for the team.
"We do want to be in games where we're in a position to beat an England and a France.
"Are we getting there? Well, with this competition, we've proved that we haven't as yet.
"So, we'll take that, but unfortunately it means we have to sit on it for 12 months before we get another crack at them, a top four team.
"Our job now is to get as good as we can in the next year so that when we get them over here, we can condense that scoreline even further."
Ireland will conclude their Six Nations campaign with a home match against Scotland on 17 May at the Aviva Stadium.
Wafer shines as Ireland enjoy home win over Wales
