Bemand: 'Clarity and purpose' key in new Ireland set-up

Irish and English women's rugby took different paths following their 2015 Six Nations meeting.

February of that year was the last time Ireland, then under Tom Tierney, got the better of the Red Roses.

The following year the margin of defeat for Ireland was just four points but since then the gap has widened significantly.

In the six ties since that game, Ireland have lost by 27, 22, 44, 27, 69 and 48 points, and failed to get on the scoresheet in the last two fixtures.

The downturn in fortunes, which saw them crash out of a World Cup qualifying campaign after losses to Spain and Scotland, and finish with a first wooden spoon since 2004 in last season’s Six Nations, has seen off two head coaches and two captains.

Adam Griggs and Greg McWilliams lost their jobs, and skippers Ciara Griffin and Nichola Fryday stepped away from international rugby, aged 27 and 28, respectively.

Scott Bemand, who took over the Ireland head coach role in July, was part of the England set-up for the last eight years, a spell which saw the team contest back-to-back World Cup finals and win six of the last seven Six Nations renewals.

If anyone can diagnose what needs to be done to arrest the worrying slide in the team’s fortunes, it’s likely to be Bemand, a former Harlequins, Leicester and Bath scrum-half.

Full-time contracts were introduced for the first time, the squad are based in the high-performance centre in Blanchardstown, and there now appears to be a more symbiotic relationship between the Sevens and 15s programmes.

Bemand has come in with "fresh eyes" and had over a month to get his feet under the table and get a feel for the place.

The basics, he says in his first interview in the role, are in place.

"Clarity" of purpose jumped off the sheet when