Ireland captain Edel McMahon hopes WXV competition ends 'bonkers' scorelines

Edel McMahon says the addition of regular international fixtures outside of the Six Nations is a huge boost as Ireland build towards next year's World Cup.

The team’s journey began 12 months ago when they won the newly inaugurated WXV3 series in Dubai under head coach Scott Bemand, who took the role in August of 2023.

A third-place finish in the Six Nations last spring ensured World Cup qualification and yesterday’s impressive 36-10 win over Australia sets the team up for what will be tougher tests against world champions New Zealand, USA and Canada in WXV1.

Full Tests outside Six Nations and World Cup windows have been sporadic over the years and Ireland skipper McMahon has welcomed a more structured calendar.

"It's huge. It's not even valuable for us, it's valuable for the World Cup," said the Exeter Chiefs flanker.

"It creates an opportunity for international fixtures that teams don't get outside of a Six Nations.

"It forces nations to invest, send their teams away.

"It grows the game and grows the competition. It means you're not getting games in knock-out or pool stages with bonkers scores.

"WX1, 2, 3 is driving teams to be better, to invest in their women's teams, and to create matches so that they're playing regularly.

"For us, it's an opportunity for us to play teams that we're not regularly coming up against and we need to be able to do what we did against Australia."

Despite not having played since April, Bemand’s side hit heights not seen by the international team in years.

Belying their ninth-place ranking against a Wallaroos outfit in fifth, Ireland scored three tries in either half of yesterday’s victory in Belfast.

Cohesion and confidence were notable factors in the performance.

"The mood is really good, there's a good