McMahon return to fitness 'bang on track' for upcoming Women's Rugby World Cup
Despite being marked absent for their final warm-up game against Canada at Affidea Stadium in Belfast on Saturday, Ireland head coach Scott Bemand has revealed co-captain Edel McMahon is 'bang on track' to regain her fitness in time for the forthcoming Women's Rugby World Cup.
Clare native McMahon has been dealing with a knee issue in recent weeks and hasn't featured for Ireland since the conclusion of the Six Nations Championship last April. Yet Bemand explained in the aftermath of Saturday's game that she potentially could have played if it was a fixture of greater significance and this raises hopes that she'll be named in his official squad for the RWC on Monday morning.
Irish supporters are also keeping their fingers crossed that McMahon's fellow back-row Aoife Wafer will make the cut for the tournament, even though injuries to her posterior cruciate ligament and medial cruciate ligament have severely curtailed her preparations in recent months. The Irish backroom team will be doing all they can to ensure Wafer is available for at least some of the World Cup, but Bemand acknowledged there will need to be a delicate balancing act in his final squad selection.
'There's always a balance around who you can take and what you can't. We call them salvageable injuries. 'Tricky' [Edel McMahon] is bang on track. If this was a World Cup quarter-final, 'Tricky' would have been in the mix for selection. She's well placed,' Bemand explained.
'Aoife, we said this one just came a little bit too soon. We'll continue to progress and assess. You certainly can't carry too many. We know we need a squad to get out of this competition what we want out of it. We've had to balance that in with some selections, but in the main 'Tricky' is pretty close.'
14-0 behind in the early stages of their eventual triumph against Scotland in a maiden warm-up clash at Virgin Media Park in Cork a week earlier, Ireland found themselves adrift by the same margin in Belfast on Saturday following converted opening quarter tries for Canada from Florence Symonds and Justine Pelletier.
The hosts eventually opened their account when Beibhinn Parsons dotted down on 20 minutes, but with Daleaka Menin, Symonds (for her second) and Paige Farries all crossing over in clinical fashion, Canada established a commanding 26-point interval buffer.
Canada full-back Julia Schell increased her side's lead with a fine finish off a breakaway move 15 minutes into the second half, before Ireland finally enjoyed a purple patch either side of the third-quarter mark.
One of 10 players drafted into the Irish starting line-up for this encounter, winger Anna McGann did her chances of future selection no harm by bagging tries in the 59th and 62nd minutes.
The aforementioned Parsons rounded off an extended attack on 71 minutes to join McGann in finishing the game with a brace of tries, but it was Canada who had the final say with a late converted score from Sophie de Goede.
Moments after the visitors propelled themselves into a 40-7 lead at the home of Ulster Rugby, Gloucester Hartpury prop Ellena Perry was introduced off the bench for her Ireland debut. This wasn't her international bow, however, as she previously lined out on 11 occasions for England from 2018 to 2020.
During this time, Bemand was part of the Red Roses backroom staff as lead coach and therefore is fully aware of what the front-row can bring to the table. A World Rugby regulation that allows players to represent a second nation after a three-year stand-down period, if they, a parent or a grandparent were born in that second nation, has paved the way for Perry to switch allegiances to Ireland through her maternal grandfather.
This has opened the door for the 28-year-old to become a potential World Cup bolter and Bemand was impressed with her performance upon being introduced to the fray on Saturday.
'Since she has stepped foot on the ground, she's been brilliant. Today we've seen she can more than handle herself. She has been able to add on and off the pitch. Delighted to have gotten some time into her, so that she can put her hand up for selection,' Bemand added.
Scorers for Ireland: Tries: A McGann 2, B Parsons 2 Cons: D O'Brien 3
Scorers for Canada: Tries: F Symonds 2, J Pelletier, D Menin, P Farries, J Schell, S de Goede Cons: S de Goede 6
IRELAND: S Flood; B Parsons, A Dalton, E Breen (E Higgins 52), A McGann; D O'Brien, A Reilly (E Lane 66); N O'Dowd (E Perry 56), N Jones (C Moloney-MacDonald 56), L Djougang (S McGrath 71); R Campbell (E Corri Fallon 66), F Tuite; G Moore, I Kiripati (C Moloney-MacDonald 31-40 & S Monaghan h-t), B Hogan (C Boles 56).
CANADA: J Schell; A Corrigan, F Symonds (S-M Lachance 68), A Tessier (S Seumanutafa 24), P Farries (O Demerchant 26-30); C Gallagher, J Pelletier (O Apps 56); M Hunt (B Kassil 52), G Boag (E Tuttosi 52), D Menin (O Demerchant h-t); S de Goede, T Beukeboom; K Paquin (P Buisa 56) (C O'Donnell 60)), C Crossley, F Forteza.
Referee: A Groizeleau (France).
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