Ireland where they 'want to be' for Black Ferns

Ireland beat Australia in Belfast as part of their preparations for WXV1

Ireland's Aoife Dalton says taking part in WXV1 is a great opportunity for the side as they prepare for their first time in the competition's top tier.

Scott Bemand's side won WXV3 a year ago, beating Spain, Colombia and Kazakhstan to claim the title, but have jumped two divisions thanks to finishing third in the 2024 Six Nations.

They will face world champions New Zealand in Vancouver in the early hours of Monday morning, before games against host nation Canada and the USA.

Ireland have not faced the Black Ferns since 2016 and this will be just the third ever Test between the two sides.

"It's what we set out for," said Leinster centre Dalton.

"We're in WXV1 and that's where we want to be.

"Coming here is so cool. What an opportunity to play here against the World Cup champions."

Having travelled last week in an effort to combat jet-lag and the eight-hour time difference, Ireland held a training game against Six Nations rivals France on arrival in Vancouver as a warm-up for the campaign.

Back-row Brittany Hogan believes the competitive nature of such training is ideal preparation for the standard of opposition Ireland will face in the weeks ahead.

"It was very valuable to us to get that first hit on the grass and see the stuff that we were talking about in meetings come to fruition," she said.

"It's so valuable. When you're training against each other you are aware of the special plays, it's easy to defend or attack against them.

"To have a team that have no idea what you're doing, it's really valuable to see if the moves are going to work."