Irish Rugby

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Ireland co-captain Edel McMahon said her side cannot "get too ahead of" themselves before facing Italy in Rome on Sunday.

Scott Bemand's team lost their opener of the Women's Six Nations for the fourth season in a row against France in Belfast on Saturday but offered a strong showing in the 27-15 defeat.

While the side ranked fourth in the world had scored 56 and 53 points on their two most recent visits to Ireland, the hosts were just 17-15 behind in the final 10 minutes before France put a late gloss on the scoreline.

"The thing is not to get too ahead of ourselves knowing that we could have won," said McMahon, who was used as a second-half replacement.

"It's actually still about showing up. You can talk and talk and talk, but if you don't action and do, you're not going to earn it.

"As much as [against France] we knew we could have won that game, we still need to make sure we implement that plan. Believing is one thing, doing is another."

With McMahon named as a substitute, and her fellow co-captain Sam Monaghan absent through injury, wing Amee-Leigh Costigan led the side out at Kingspan Stadium with hooker Neve Jones serving as vice skipper.

McMahon felt it was "an easy pick" to have Costigan serve in her place.

"Leigh is just a leader in her own right," said the flanker.

"A lot of people were asking how I helped her out - you don't need to help Leigh, she's a leader in how she carries herself.

"It was an easy pick for her, the same as Neve Jones."

McMahon, who won her 31st cap against France, added that the pair "embody the core values of the Ireland squad.

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Amee-Leigh Costigan felt Ireland needed to make more of Gabrielle Vernier's red card during their opening 27-15 defeat by France in the Women's Six Nations.

The visiting centre opened the scoring with an early try at Kingspan Stadium but was shown a 20-minute red in the second half.

Ireland were 17-5 behind at the time of the 27-year-old's high tackle on Eve Higgins but Neve Jones' maul try from the resulting kick to the corner made it a one-score game.

The hosts would not score again, however, until after France were restored to 15 players.

Scott Bemand's side did cut the gap to just two points with 14 minutes left but France pulled away again in the closing stages.

"Getting different outcomes when they have a red card, like what should we look at and how can we get points on the board with that?" said Costigan when asked what the side must learn from the defeat.

The wing, who described captaining the side for a first time as "such an honour", felt there were elements of the performance to build upon going into their round two fixture against Italy in Parma on 30 March.

"After a big training build up towards this first game, I think we'll take the learnings, improve on them, and then have a look at Italy and see where we want to attack," she added.

"We've seen what we can do, but we really do want more and just to push on with that."

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Bulls (6) 21

Tries: Penalty, Grobbelaar Pens: Johannes 2, Kriel

Leinster (10) 20

Tries: Barrett, Osborne Cons: Byrne 2 Pens: Byrne 2

David Kriel kicked a last-gasp penalty as the 14-man Bulls ended Leinster's 12-game unbeaten run in the United Rugby Championship with a 21-20 victory.

The South African side had battled into the lead in Pretoria before wing Sebastian de Klerk was sent off for a reckless tackle on Andrew Osborne with five minutes to play.

Ross Byrne then kicked Leinster into a two-point lead, but the URC leaders gave away a scrum penalty with the clock in the red to hand Kriel the chance to land the winning points.

Despite the defeat, Leinster still hold a nine-point lead a the top of the table, while victory moved the Bulls up to third.

The Bulls took the lead when Keagan Johannes landed a penalty, but Leinster would respond with the first try moments later.

Tommy O'Brien kicked the ball into the Bulls' 22 and Leinster recycled the ball quickly to allow New Zealand centre Jordie Barrett all the time and space required to race over the line.

Byrne added the conversion, but the Bulls' task got even harder when prop Alulutho Tshakweni was sent to the sin-bin for a tackle.

Both sides exchanged penalties through Byrne and Johannes, but Leinster held a 10-6 lead at the break.

The URC leaders struck again three minutes after the restart when Andrew Osborne finished off a flowing move in the corner.

Osborne looked as if he had dropped the ball forward as he looked to touch down with one hand, but the TMO stuck with the on-field decision of try and Byrne again added the extras.

The Bulls had a gilt-edged chance to score their first try when Johan Grobbelaar made good ground, but Jan-Hendrik Wessels spilled the ball with the tryline gaping.

The South Africans got a deserved score when a rolling maul was brought down and the penalty try was awarded, and Thomas Clarkson was sent to the sin-bin.

Another maul gave the Bulls the lead with 10 minutes to play as replacement prop Grobbelaar crossed, but Kriel hit the post with his conversion.

However, there was a twist to come when De Klerk was sent off with five minutes to play for a reckless tackle on Osborne in the air.

Leinster pushed forward and won a penalty just inside the Bulls half, and Byrne's superb kick from range went in off the post.

That looked like it would be the winning kick until the Leinster scrum collapsed with the clock in the red, and Kriel's penalty split the posts to land a famous win for the Bulls.

Bulls: W le Roux; S de Klerk; D Kriel, H Vorster; S Jacobs; K Johannes, E Papier; A Tashkweni, A van der Merwe, W Louw; R Vermaak, JF van Heerden; M Cotzee, J Kirsten, C Hanekom.

Replacements: J Grobbelaar, JH Wessels, MSmith, R Ludwig, M van Staden, N Carr, Z Burger, D Williams.

Leinster: J O'Brien; T O'Brien, Cooney, Barrett, A Osborne; Byrne, McGrath (capt); Boyle, McKee, Slimani; Mangan, Snyman; Deegan, Connors, Culhane

Replacements: Smyth, I Soroka, Clarkson, Deeny, A Soroka, Penny, Gunne, Frawley

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Ireland head coach Scott Bemand said his side want more than to make a "good fist of it" against the best teams in the world after they were beaten 27-15 by France at home to open the Women's Six Nations.

Both sides scored three tries at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast and the visitors led by just two points with nine minutes remaining.

Last season's championship runners-up, however, scored the final 10 points of the game through a Mor­gane Bour­geois penalty and Em­i­lie Boulard's converted try.

"We don't want to be noble losers," Bemand said.

"With 10 minutes to go, we felt we could go on and win.

"They're a young group still. They've got to be in those positions."

Ireland, who beat world champions New Zealand in Vancouver last year, were 14-0 down after 18 minutes before forcing their way back into the game and Bemand believes they could have secured victory with more "calmness of thought" in key areas.

"We've had some experience, like at the end of the New Zealand game in WXV1 when we were able to come back and win it, but coming out here against these tier-one-nations and World Cup contenders, we thought it would come down to those last 20 minutes.

"You're going to need to have that composure, not belief really, just calmness of thought that you can execute where you want to be on the pitch, how you get there, and then you take those opportunities."

Ireland will travel to Italy next weekend in round two of the Six Nations but could yet meet France again this year.

At the World Cup in England, the winner of Ireland's pool will play the runner-up of France's in the quarter-finals and vice versa.

"With a World Cup on the horizon, this very well could be a quarter-final," added Bemand.

"We said to the group, we want to get to that World Cup and know the next time we meet France, we can beat them.

"It's obviously not gone our way today but I think we think we can beat them the next time we meet them."

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Ulster make three changes from the win over Scarlets two weeks ago for Saturday's crucial United Rugby Championship contest against Dragons which includes the return of prop Tom O'Toole.

O'Toole takes over from Scott Wilson, who drops to the bench, with David McCann replacing Matty Rea in the back row and Nathan Doak in for Conor McKee at scrum-half.

McKee made his competitive debut when starting against Scarlets but won't feature at Rodney Parade as John Cooney - whose departure at the end of the season was announced earlier this week - is named on the bench.

Doak will partner Ulster Academy fly-half Jack Murphy in the half-backs as Aidan Morgan is included in the replacements.

Ulster head coach Richie Murphy admitted on Tuesday that his side "need to win" the contest against the bottom-placed club to maintain hopes of clinching a spot in the end-of-season play-offs.

The 12th-placed Irish province are only two points off a play-offs spot but losing to Dragons - who are marooned at the bottom of the table - would not be a promising sign in relation to Ulster's hopes of moving into the top eight with only five rounds of fixtures remaining after this weekend.

Ulster: Moore; Lowry, Hume, McCloskey, Stockdale; Murphy, Doak; Reid, Herring, O'Toole; O'Connor (capt), Dalton; McCann, Timoney, McNabney.

Replacements: Andrew, Crean, Wilson, Treadwell, Crothers, Cooney, Morgan, Ward.

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Forward Fiona Tuite says Ireland can "100%" defeat France in their Women's Six Nations opener in Belfast on Saturday.

France have finished second to all-conquering England in the last five Six Nations and missed out on last year's title after a final game defeat by the Red Roses.

Ireland, who finished third last year, last defeated the French in 2017 championship.

"We 100% believe we can win this game," said Ulster second row Tuite.

"We'll focus on ourselves and we'll take a lot from it, it's not all about the result.

"We're really focused on this being a journey and on ourselves. If the result comes, then absolutely, it's class. But do we think we can punch? Absolutely."

The 28-year-old has been named amongst the replacements alongside Cliodhna Moloney and squad captain Eden McMahon with head coach Scott Bemand opting for a 6:2 split on his bench.

Under Bemand, Ireland have qualified for this summer's World Cup and recorded famous victories over Australia and New Zealand last autumn.

Tuite said the step up in "physicality and aggression" were the main differences in playing the best teams in the world, and that is where Ireland would look to take a further step.

"We're not the biggest team but we're definitely aggressive. I think Hugh [Hogan, defence coach] calls us a middleweight team, where we have to punch hard and low.

"That's something we have been focusing on, that Irish physical dominance is something we wanted to bring into the game.

"We're really looking forward to bringing that against the French."

Tuite added France are a "tough team" and said Ireland had been building in training, becoming more "intense and competitive" as the weeks have progressed.

"They are fast, strong and quick. We've worked really hard but we will just focus on the game that we can bring, and we're looking forward to the challenge.

"We're looking forward to see how we go in the Six Nations and then on to the World Cup."

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Amee-Leigh Costigan will captain Ireland in their Women's Six Nations opener against France at the Kingspan Stadium.

Costigan previously captained Ireland Sevens but will lead Ireland for the first time in a Test match in Belfast with regular captain Edel McMahon on the bench.

Second row Ruth Campbell and openside flanker Erin King will make their Six Nations debuts for Scott Bemand's side in a game that will be live on BBC Northern Ireland as well as iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

The Ireland team shows four changes to the side that beat USA in the WXV Series in their last game in October as Campbell, Anna McGann, Eve Higgins and Dannah O'Brien are handed starts.

Stacey Flood and McGann join Costigan in the back three with McGann coming in for the retired Eimear Considine at right wing.

Eve Higgins and Aoife Dalton are selected as the midfield pairing whilst Emily Lane makes her first championship appearance since 2021 at scrum-half as O'Brien comes in for Nicole Fowley at out-half.

Niamh O'Dowd, Neve Jones, who has been selected as vice-captain, and Linda Djougang make up the front row, with Campbell preferred to Fiona Tuite at lock alongside Dorothy Wall.

Brittany Hogan, King and Aoife Wafer complete Ireland's back row.

Bemand has opted for a 6:2 split on the bench and can call upon the likes of Cliodhna Moloney, Siobhan McCarthy, Christy Haney, Grace Moore, Tuite and McMahon as forward reinforcements, with Aoibheann Reilly and Enya Breen the backline replacements.

Ireland were beaten 38-17 by France in last year's Six Nations as they finished third in the table.

Ireland team: Flood, McGann, Dalton, Higgins, Costigan (capt); O'Brien, Lane; O'Dowd, Jones, Djougang, Campbell, Wall, Hogan, King, Wafer.

Replacements: Moloney, McCarthy, Haney, Moore, Tuite, McMahon, Reilly, Breen.

Image source, Inpho

Centre Eve Higgins says Ireland have "huge belief" heading into their Women's Six Nations opener with France in Belfast (13:00 GMT).

Ireland have had a strong year of progress under head coach Scott Bemand and a third place finish in last year's Six Nations secured qualification for the World Cup.

That was then backed up by a win over Australia in Belfast and a shock, historic victory in WXV1 against New Zealand in Vancouver.

"That has grown a huge belief in this squad," Higgins said on Ireland's progress in 2024.

"Every single one of us is looking forward to going into the Six Nations and building on last year."

Higgins said Ireland trained against France, who are led by star scum-half scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus, in the lead-up to their win over New Zealand.

France finished second in last year's Six Nations after losing to England in a Grand Slam shootout in the final round.

"In the week heading into the New Zealand game we had our heaviest session against them," added the 25-year-old.

"We have not only had playing against them in the Six Nations, but also to train against them and focus on key areas.

"It put us in a great place heading into the New Zealand game.

"They have some star players and a power game, but the team has gained a lot of confidence from training against them."

After their opener with France, Ireland travel to Italy, host England and round out the tournament away to Wales and Scotland.

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Ireland internationals James Lowe and Jamie Osborne have signed new deals to remain at United Rugby Championship leaders Leinster.

Wing Lowe joined Leinster from the Chiefs in his native New Zealand before the 2017-18 season.

Lowe is the second highest try scorer in Leinster's history, eight behind Shane Horgan's record of 69 tries.

Now Irish-qualified, the 32-year-old is a key player for Ireland and helped them win back-to-back Six Nations titles, as well as the Triple Crown in 2025.

Osborne, who can play at full-back, centre or on the wing, came through Leinster's academy and made his senior debut in January 2021.

The 23-year-old made his Ireland debut against South Africa in July and scored a try in Cardiff as Ireland beat Wales to win the Triple Crown in this year's Six Nations.

The pair join Ireland backs Jack Conan and Ryan Baird in extending their contracts with Leo Cullen's side.

Leinster are unbeaten in the United Rugby Championship after 12 matches and face Harlequins in the last-16 of the Champions Cup in April.

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Ulster head coach Richie Murphy says his side "need to win" to keep their hopes of finishing in the top eight of the United Rugby Championship alive.

A top-eight finish will not only secure a play-off position but also a place in the Champions Cup for next season.

Ulster sit 12th after a disappointing campaign but are just two points off a play-off position with six matches remaining.

Murphy's side head into Saturday's game in Wales off the back off a dramatic win over Scarlets in Belfast on 1 March.

"If we want to keep our hopes up of playing at the business end of the season then we need to win, there's no doubt," said Murphy.

"The Dragons' league position shows they are at the bottom but they have been very competitive, especially at home."

Cooney 'will be missed' in Belfast

Murphy added that he feels the race for the play-offs will "definitely go right to the wire".

After Ulster travel to Dragons on Saturday, Murphy's side face the Stormers, Leinster, Sharks, Munster and Edinburgh to round off the URC regular season.

"The teams in the middle are roughly four to five points off where they were last year.

"Last year it was 50 points to get into the play-offs, we finished on 51, but you could see 46 or 47 getting you in this year.

"That all goes on in the background. You're always thinking about them but all we can do this week is play for a maximum of five points."

Murphy also paid tribute to long-serving scrum-half John Cooney, who will join French side Brive at the end of the season.

The 34-year-old became a fan favourite after joining from Connacht in 2017 and Murphy said he had been "incredible" for the club.

"Obviously I've only been here for a year but I've known John since he was 15 or 16 coming out of school," added Murphy.

"I've known him for a long time and he has stood up on some really big nights with some incredible performances.

"He'll be missed around the place. It's like when he came in and took over from Ruan Pienaar. It'll be big shoes to fill and now someone else will get that opportunity."

Wallace High won the Ulster Schools' Cup final for the first time in their history with a 24-15 victory over Royal School Armagh at Kingspan Stadium.

The Lisburn school had been beaten finalists on five occasions and had also reached the St Patrick's Day showpiece in 2020 only to see the game cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

They got the better of an entertaining final at the home of Ulster Rugby with their pack particularly impressive.

The front-row accounted for three of their side's four tries with Rio McDonagh crossing twice and James Gould also scoring in a strong performance.

Armagh fly-half Evan Hughes opened the scoring with a penalty but Derek Suffern's side hit back quickly through McDonagh.

The loose-head prop had won a penalty at the breakdown before barging over from close range following the subsequent kick to the corner.

Armagh responded when a sharp offload from Hughes put Cameron Cummings for a score.

Wallace's forwards were particularly to the fore as they took control of the game.

Gould put them in the lead for good with another score from close range and the hooker was centrally involved in McDonagh's second touchdown after a huge burst through the middle.

Armagh had a chance to close the 17-10 gap just before the turn but Wallace scrambled back well to force Hughes into touch.

The first score of the second half always seemed likely to be key and Wallace got it 10 minutes after the restart through centre Luke Dillon with Gould providing the assist.

Armagh reduced the deficit to nine points when, after Gould had fantastically managed to halt Charlie Reaney on the line, Armagh captain Thomas Dougan was on hand to score once the ball was recycled.

Wallace, however, were able to hold firm over the final seven minutes to claim victory.