Scott Bemand wants Ireland to embrace Twickenham test

When it came, Ireland's first Women's Six Nations win in two years was relatively straightforward.

Not easy, by any means, but they had a plan and executed it well. Six forays into the opposition 22 yielded three first-half tries.

The players were all singing off the same hymn sheet and were clinical as they enjoyed 61% possession and 61% territory.

Wales were distinctly second best throughout Saturday's 36-5 defeat, during which Ireland wrapped up a bonus point two minutes after the break.

Now comes the difficult second chapter for Scott Bemand and his charges.

On Saturday (2.15pm) they come up against his former side, England, who are going for a sixth title in a row.

You have to go back to 2015 for the last time Ireland beat England and they've never won away.

The last five games have an aggregate scoreline of 228-40 and Ireland haven't scored a point in the last three meetings.

So how does Bemand (above) set realistic expectations in camp this week? What's a satisfactory outcome against the table-toppers, who have beaten Italy, Wales and Scotland in this campaign?

"We'll go after our own performance," Bemand told RTÉ Sport.

"If that's good enough to get a win, then that's something we'll absolutely go after. England are in a space where their programme is mature.

"They've been professional players for a good while and they've a few threats with a bit of depth in behind it.

"We'll go there and get excited about playing in front of a big crowd.

"We talk about being a young team [and] part of building experience is getting used to going out there, playing in these big stadiums that are nearly full.

"We're going to have to handle the environment as much as who we're playing.

"There's a bunch of experience we're going to get out of