Women's Six Nations 2023: Greg McWilliams says Ireland can 'front up' to France

Greg McWilliams was appointed Ireland head coach in December 2021

Ireland coach Greg McWilliams believes his side can compete physically with France in Saturday's Six Nations game in Cork despite being outmuscled by Wales in last weekend's Cardiff opener.

McWilliams admitted Wales' physicality "shocked" Ireland last weekend.

"It was a total new world to some of them," he said.

"It was a shock to the players but the response has been great and we've worked hard to be strategically smart so that we're able to cope."

Wales put last weekend's match to bed with four first-half tries as they clinched a 31-5 victory over the Irish.

McWilliams has reacted to that defeat by making five changes - which includes the enforced absence of injured centre Enya Breen - with Christy Haney replacing Ulster youngster Sadhbh McGrath in the front row and Grace Moore and Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird drafted into the back row instead of Maeve Og O'Leary and Brittany Hogan.

The Ireland coach hopes the alterations will enable his side to "front up against a very physical French pack".

France beat improving Italy in opener

France opened their campaign with a 22-12 win over a rapidly improving Italy in Parma and can be expected to tear into Ireland early on following their Cardiff struggles.

However, McWilliams insists strategies can be employed to ensure Ireland do not suffer the same fate on home soil at Musgrave Park.

"It wasn't the fitness that was the issue [in Cardiff]," he said. "It was the ability to cope with the physicality and there are ways that we can do that.

"We can get lower. We can bring more energy. We can work on working in great numbers to counteract physicality.

"It's not just about size. It's about our ability to learn from experiencing a level of physicality that the players wouldn't have had before. It was nowhere near the level of physicality that some of them had experienced in [last summer's tour of] Japan.

"That experience alone of playing that game last week, we're hoping it will stand to our players because they weren't expecting it. Understandably with an inexperienced group, you get shell-shocked.

"Now they've experienced it, it's how can we learn from that experience so that we're better for this challenge. I can't wait for Saturday and I know the players are more excited than I am."

Coach McWilliams was hugely impressed by Ulster youngster Sadhbh McGrath's response to her tough international baptism in Cardiff

Ulster youngster McGrath drops to the bench after her difficult first half in her international debut but the coach praised the Donegal 18-year-old's response to her tough Six Nations baptism.

"To have an 18-year-old prop who was beaten up early on, let's not deny that, but who was able to problem solve and come in at half-time and talk to the scrum coach about what she did and the position she got in that made her more stable. That's just phenomenal for us to get that feedback," said McWilliams.

In addition to three forward changes and the drafting of Ulster's Vicky Irwin for injured centre Breen, McWilliams has opted for a change at fly-half with Leinster's younger Dannah O'Brien handed a first Six Nations start as she takes over from Nicole Cronin, who is named in the replacements.

"Dannah's a really, really talented player," said McWilliams. "She's relatively inexperienced but I believe that she is the right person to start at 10 this weekend, as do the players and the rest of the staff.

"I'm just looking forward to her going out and sticking to a good plan that we have against the French.

"I think if we do that, you will see Dannah controlling the game really well which is what anyone would want from their out-half."

McWilliams picks inexperienced backline

O'Brien will be earning her fourth cap as part of a backline that only has a combined 32 international appearances, but McWilliams insists he has no fears over the apparent lack of experience behind the scrum.

"No. I mean that. These are the right players right now. They're available. They are the way to go. They are talented, hard-working," he said.

"You've got a group of young Irish women who have been brave this week in terms of looking inside themselves as individuals and as a group. To see their response, these are the right people."

A crowd of about 6,000 is expected in Cork and McWilliams believes that has further boosted his players' morale.

"That's 6,000 people who know that last week didn't go well," he said.

"It's a chance for us to show our growth as a group and show that we're on the right path. If we do that, I think it's going to be a good day."