female
international women
Ireland head coach Scott Bemand enjoys the challenge of testing his team against South Africa in a two-match WXV Global Series tour.
So far in the WXV Global Series, Ireland have lost to USA Women’s Eagles and beaten Japan 31-24. In the second game against Sakura Fifteen, played outside WXV Global Series window, Ireland were 43-19 winners in Cork.
But during the autumn games, Ireland struggled for consistency, regularly turning the ball over and conceding more penalties than any head coach would have liked.
They hardly produced the blistering performances we saw at this year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations.
The tour of South Africa will provide Ireland with a significantly different test, especially physically. It will be the first time the two teams have played each other in 20 years and the first time Ireland have played a Test on South African soil.
“How many times can we actually tour?” Bemand said. “It’s not as regular as everyone thinks. The last one was WXV when we were second in the WXV tournament (in Canada).
“It gave us so many layers. We learned so much about people being away from home, being on tour, being a good tourist while still maintaining performance levels and expectations.”
“I’m really excited to go to South Africa. I’ve never been. So that’s another layer for us. In three years (in the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029), we will be away for about nine weeks.
“The three-week tour in Africa is well-timed for us. And you know, we’ve learned some things in the last three weeks that we have to take on a completely different physical challenge over there. But in two weeks, we’ll be ready.”
Taking on South Africa will be a challenge for Ireland. Against the U.S. Women’s Eagles in September, Bemand’s team struggled to match the physical intensity of the North Americans, surrendering a 19-point lead and losing 40-36 in front of their home crowd.
In 2026, the Springbok women have made no secret of their desire to dominate the teams in layout and defence.
That desire has produced mixed results this calendar year. The team won the third consecutive title at the African Women’s Rugby Cup, drew the series against the USA, whitewashed Fiji in the two-match series and lost to the Black Ferns in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry clash.
It was on the eve of that clash with the Springbok women in Soweto which is their mastermind Women’s Rugby World Cup A run to the quarter-finals in 2025, Swys de Bruin has announced his sudden departure from his position.
Now led by co-coaches Laurian Johannes-Haupt and Franzel September, South Africa lost to Wales while collecting wins against Italy and Spain.
For Ireland, whose attack saw them win back-to-back Test matches against the Sakura Fifteen, the two-match tour in Cape Town will force the team to answer questions they have previously struggled with.
“They’re coming in with a little bit of a different game,” Bemand said. “They have the physicality, they have the physical presence, and we know it’s coming. So our team and the forwards might even have to deal with that in particular. We don’t just want to survive, we want to thrive in it.”
“We’re going to find ways to impose our game on them, and I’m sure we will. We’ve seen parts of our game impose themselves. He’s got to be a little more relentless with it. And when we’re under physical pressure, we’ve got to be able to handle it.”