Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Ireland Women head coach Scott Bemand.Ben Brady/INPHO 'They call it 'into the red' where you lose that clarity of thought' Ireland head coach Scott Bemand is confident his players can improve against Italy. 7.31am, 28 Mar 2025 Share options IT’S TELLING HOW big an impact a few stray kicks can have on a game of rugby. Ireland kicked out on the full three times last weekend against France and were punished by a French try on each occasion. Ireland scored three tries of their own, but the usually precise Dannah O’Brien wasn’t able to convert any of them. On another day, those kicks from hand stay infield and France have to work harder for chances to strike. On another day, O’Brien lands the conversions to apply more scoreboard pressure on the French. Kicking wasn’t the only issue for Ireland in last weekend’s 27-15 defeat. 14 handling errors resulting in turnovers was another big one. But they’re confident the kicking woes can be remedied quickly as they now look towards Sunday’s second-round clash with Italy in Parma. “Kicking out on the full, so three of those kicks resulted in tries – that’s 21 points there,” says Ireland head coach Scott Bemand. “So if we don’t kick out on the full, we’re still in control, but what we’re doing is that we understand where we want to play the game. France are very adept at this, it’s a challenge to find space. “We know we need to develop more than one kicker. Trying to base your game on one sole kicker is an awful lot of pressure. As we go through, we’re starting to do work with the nines on their kicking but that bit will come as it becomes a bit more ready.” Bemand points to good kicks putting Ireland into promising attacking positions too, so they’re already making strides in this area. They have brought in former Exeter Chiefs out-half Gareth Steenson to work on their kicking game this season and Bemand is pleased with the progress so far. Ireland out-half Dannah O'Brien.Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO “It’s never just on the kick, it’s more complicated than that,” he continues. “A good kick can be made into a great kick with a chase and how you press off it. A great kick can be made to look pretty shoddy if your backfield doesn’t get sorted and you find yourself with the ball bouncing and you running back. “So there’s some elements to the game with the kick, the backfield, the press, how we create pressure from it. It’s quite a big growth area in the women’s game.” As for the goal-kicking, Bemand has total belief in 21-year-old out-half O’Brien. “First and foremost, people can have a bad day off the tee,” says Bemand. Advertisement “I’d really publicly back Dannah. You think of the conversations that we’ve had and continue to have, the positive notes that come from achieving World Cup qualification, WXV when she kicks those winning points against New Zealand. “But you’re still looking at somebody who’s doing their growing up in the frontline here. She’s got a wonderful boot. You watch her at training either out of hand or off the tee, she’s got an outstanding boot, so we back her. “In modern rugby, you need to be able to handle pressure, you need to be able to move pressure, you need to be able to take your points when they’re there. So we’re not shying away from it. “Absolutely, the points we left out there possibly made a difference, three tries each. But what we continue to do is work hard at it and back her because on her day, she’s as good a kicker as I’ve come across in my coaching in the women’s game.” Bemand regularly touches on the mental side of rugby. Indeed, most of his answers end up focusing on players’ mentalities and thought processes. He talks about how Ireland weren’t “emotionally ready” to win certain games last year, he outlines how this squad have learned how to learn faster, how important “coping mechanisms” are to progress after defeats, and why remaining “flat-calm” in good and bad times is key. Ireland celebrate a try against France.Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO Bemand outlines that Ireland have been actively improving their mental game by blending “performance skills” work into their schedule, as well as testing their players by creating a bit of chaos in training sessions. “It’s really easy to talk about a plan when you’re fresh, but it’s how your plan stands up to test match intensity,” says Bemand. “In training, at times it can be neat. At times, it can be sitting on the chaotic side because you’re trying to move people into a space where you’ve got either time, collision, or space pressure. The aerobic side comes into that as well. “We’ve been doing some bits on-pitch which allow us to develop us to think clearly. “But you see little flashpoints where people step outside. They call it ‘into the red’ where you lose that clarity of thought. “We talk about how that felt, how you put it right and what process you can follow when the game does move you there, and then you’re trying to move the opposition into that space. “We had a crack at doing it – when we kept the French out for the few minutes before half time, you could see they were visibly starting to think, ‘Where do we go now?’ “In rugby there will be moments where they recover, and we went back the other end and missed an opportunity to score. But there was a point where France took a three, and we felt we were starting to move into that space, thinking this could be our game. “We know there are mental skills to this. This is elite-level Test match rugby, and we’re trying to grow our game further in that space. It’s not perfect yet, but we’re moving to that quickly.” Murray Kinsella Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “'They call it 'into the red' where you lose that clarity of thought'”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “'They call it 'into the red' where you lose that clarity of thought'”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. Racism or Hate speech An attack on an individual or group based on religion, race, gender, or beliefs. 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