Scott Bemand: Six Nations format doesn't have to change

Ireland head coach Scott Bemand doesn't believe the Guinness Women's Six Nations needs to be re-formatted, despite the gap between England and the rest appearing to be bigger than ever.

As expected, the Red Roses made light work of Ireland in front of just under 50,000 people at Twickenham last Saturday, their 88-10 win being just one point short of Ireland's record defeat, which also came against England back in 2002.

England will be heavy favourites to win away to France on Saturday and secure a fifth Grand Slam in a row, with John Mitchell's side scoring 228 and conceding just 20 points across four games so far in this championship.

Their continued dominance, combined with yet another one-sided win against Ireland, has seen some pundits question whether the Women's Six Nations is currently fit for purpose.

But Bemand, who spent eight seasons working as an assistant with England, believes changing the format of the championship would not be in their best interests.

"People and the media generally want quick fixes for things," he said.

"I think the fact that people are talking about it shows how much interest there is. Do I think it's a viable competition? Yes, I do."

As painful as Ireland's 78-point thrashing away to England was on Saturday, Bemand (above) says experiencing playing in front of nearly 50,000 people at Twickenham will do his players more good than harm in the long term.

"There’s investment going in, there’s focus being put on it. We said after the game last weekend, that arena and that atmosphere is something that our players have to learn.

"Now we’ve got that under our belt and come through, and we’re not derailed. We’ve reviewed it, we’ve parked it, we go forward.

"We like to think we can keep trying to bridge