Women's Six Nations winnable with five years, says IRFU

Ireland can compete for a Women's Six Nations title within "three to five years", according to Gillian McDarby, the IRFU’s head of women’s performance.

Last champions in 2015, Ireland missed out on World Cup qualification in 2021 and finished at the bottom of the table in this season’s Six Nations.

Currently without a permanent head coach in the wake of Greg McWilliams' departure, the union, beset by off-field controversies for the last two years, expects to fill the role within a couple of months.

Speaking at a Women in Rugby briefing yesterday, McDarby was asked what was a realistic time target for Ireland to win the Six Nations.

"You’re probably looking at three, four, five years," she said.

Asked if the vacant position would be attractive to top coaches, she added: "It'll be a challenging role, given everything that's gone on.

"If somebody wants a challenge, absolutely. It'll be a high-profile role given that the game is growing and growing.

"We want somebody who can make a mark and make a difference.

"We want to get the best candidate that's out there. That's the straight answer."

Ireland still have a huge gap to close to the likes of England and France, who played out their Grand Slam decider in front of almost 60,000 fans at Twickenham.

"Of course. Of course it is," said IRFU CEO Kevin Potts when asked about targetting something similar in Ireland.

"I spoke to my counterparts in England and France about how wonderful an occasion it was.

"The nature of the audience, there was very little alcohol sold but loads of things in the shops. It was a totally different audience, with families and children. A wonderful spectacle.

"That is, of course, our ambition, and maybe in years to come we'll have a full Aviva Stadium, playing