Ireland aim to continue progress in France opener

Hugh Hogan says Ireland's work ethic is summed up by 41-times capped prop Linda Djougang's continuous desire to improve her game

Ireland defence coach Hugh Hogan says the team are determined to continue their upward curve during this year's Women's Six Nations even though they face a tough opener against France in Belfast on Saturday (13:00 GMT).

The Irish side's clear progress over the last 18 months under coach Scott Bemand included securing qualification for this year's World Cup by finishing third in last year's Six Nations.

That was then followed by a shock victory in September over world champions New Zealand at the WXV1 tournament in Vancouver.

"When Scott started off, he built a road map of where this Ireland team can get to and truthfully, we're tracking pretty well but we have to keep making progress," said Hogan, who joined Bemand's staff last August after a career which has included coaching stints with Leinster and the Scarlets.

"We don't want to settle where we are. If you look at the players, we have, we've got some outstanding athletes, some brilliant footballers and some incredibly diligent, hard-working players."

Hogan added that Ireland's work ethic is summed by 41-times capped prop Linda Djougang's continuous desire to improve her game.

"When you have your most experienced player striving to get better in little facets of the game, it really sets a benchmark and tone for what this Irish team is going to look like."

Monaghan and Parsons ruled out

Last season's joint-captain Sam Monaghan remains unavailable as she continues to recover from the knee injury she sustained when playing for her club Gloucester-Hartpury last June while Beibhinn Parsons is also still out after suffering a second leg break in five months while on Ireland Sevens duty in December.

"Sam's not going to be fit for the tournament. Our target now is to get her back to full fitness pre the World Cup," said Hogan, who revealed that Monaghan returned home recently to undertake her rehab with the Ireland medical team.

"We do expect Beibhinn to be fit at some stage during the tournament. I couldn't give you an exact date at the moment but she's becoming more and more involved."

On the plus side, back Stacey Flood and hooker Cliodhna Moloney will be available for selection for the Kingspan Stadium contest after overcoming recent injuries.

"We've had four weeks of three-day training camps leading into our first Test this year and overall we've a pretty healthy squad," added Hogan.

"We had two or three players coming back from injury who are now back in the reckoning for selection which is wonderful."

The majority of Ireland players were in a training environment for a number of months with the Clovers and Wolfhounds before linking up with the national squad but Hogan acknowledged there will be a big step up in standard from the Celtic Challenge, which the two Irish sides dominated.

Ireland coach Scott Bemand (left) added Hugh Hogan (right), Gareth Steenson and Alex Codling to his backroom team in August

France finished second in last year's tournament after being beaten 42-21 by Grand Slam winners England in the title decider in Bordeaux.

However, the French remain a formidable force as they continue to be marshalled by outstanding scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus.

"They are very directed through their nine Bourdon Sansus," said Hogan.

"She's an extremely good player, quite a typical French nine who can kick, run….the little general as you would say. Not what we would experience necessarily in the Celtic Challenge."

But the Ireland defence coach added that the home players will also be aware of France's renowned "off-loading game".

"They've got threats across the pitch and probably more so than any of the other nations.

"They can hurt you through through a kicking game, playing through you, playing around you, an off-loading game with momentum so there are probably a few layers we have to be wary of."