Ireland head coach Bemand defends capping two ex-England players on eve of World Cup
Nancy McGillivray, who had been under contract to the English union and part of their development pathway until June, made her Test debut in green against Scotland in Cork last week and the centre marked the occasion with one of the team's five tries.
Brought up in Hong Kong, and with a strong Irish background, McGillivray had never actually played for the Red Roses. Ellena Perry, who should make her Ireland debut against Canada in Belfast this Saturday, has played for England eleven times.
The Gloucester-Hartpury front row was part of England's extended squad as recently as 2024 but hasn't been capped by her country of birth since 2020.
World Rugby regulations deem that players are allowed to swap allegiances if they haven't been fielded for three years.
Perry, who has been named on the bench for Ireland for the second of their two World Cup warm-ups, has been a late addition to the national panel and, with Christy Haney still injured, will get her chance at some point this weekend.
Bemand was asked, after naming his matchday 23 on Thursday, whether the practice of parachuting players in that had been part of the England system, and so soon before such a major tournament, might risk putting noses out of joint.
'If done incorrectly,' he said, 'but with Christy picking up the hamstring niggle we needed to bring in and supplement front row. So actually, everything has been done well, in my opinion. In terms of the playing group, she's known to a good few of our group.
'So actually transitioning in, in terms of the block that we've gone through, it's been a pre-season block. So people coming in and getting touch points within pre-season blocks is actually a really healthy point to enter. And it gives people time to acclimatize.
'It gives people time to understand what the culture is of the group. It's not just an on-pitch piece. There's an off-piece culture where people like to be themselves, and add to our wave. She's been able to do that.'
Bemand had rich praise for McGillivray and everything she has added to the group in such a short period to date, and he pointed out that Perry had been the starting loosehead for her club in both the PWR semi-final and final played back in the spring.
Alongside her in that front row was Irish stalwart Neve Jones while Irish co-captain Sam Monaghan is another who shares a dressing-room with the new recruit at the English champions. The 28-year-old is not an unknown by any means.
Bemand had worked with both Perry and McGillivray in the past, during his long stint as an assistant coach with the Red Roses, and those connections were clearly a huge help in bringing both players on board.
'She's hit the ground running,' he said of Perry. 'So she's more than earned her place in and around the area, in around the group. She's known to some of the players anyway, so in terms of the fit, there's been quite a seamless transition.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
2 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Ireland out to pass French test after solid EuroHockey start
It's rare in sport that defeat can be looked on in a positive light, but there's no denying that Ireland's opening 2-0 loss to the all-conquering Netherlands side was a commendable outcome. The side's EuroHockey Championship Pool A campaign continues today against France (live on RTÉ2/ RTÉ Player from 2.30pm), but defeat certainly will not be viewed in such a positive light. With a game against Germany still to come, victory is a must if Ireland are to reach a first-ever semi-final, and it's a game they should be winning. The French have never finished higher than seventh in the tournament – and that was all the way back in 1995 – and they needed a qualifier win on home soil to reach this tournament with wins against Luxembourg (smashing in 22 goals in the process), Ukraine and Poland seeing them through. Ève Verzura didn't feature in that qualifying tournament, but she did grab the only French goal in their opener in Mönchengladbach as they went down 4-1 to Germany on Saturday. It was hoped that the Paris Games last year would spark something in the French side, albeit they did lose all five group games. This is a fixture that could demonstrate any significant improvement. Ireland will be in confident mood at the Warsteiner HockeyPark after Saturday's opener, none more so than Elizabeth Murphy. The fact that the Netherlands were only able to score twice owed much to the heroics of the goalkeeper. The energy levels and high press of the Irish would have delighted coach Mick McKinnon and he'll be expecting more of the same today. What he will want to see is more of an attacking threat at the other end. Saturday, understandably, was about digging in and limiting chances, but France presents an opportunity to go on the offensive. Team captain Sarah Hawkshaw, Katie Mullan and Hannah McLoughlin all tested Anne Veenendaal in the Netherlands' goal, and they'll hope that French stopper Violette Ferront will have an even busier afternoon's work. A massive chance to earn a first win at the tournament, and one that should be taken.
Irish Independent
4 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
Tredagh boxers take Manchester by storm with terrific medal tally
Among the local boxers entered were Sasha Donica, Adam Walsh, PJ McCullough, Simon McDonagh, Emma O'Gorman, Ceejay Sheelan, Cian Smyth, Keith Muma, James Hackett and Jamie Campbell, and while the primary focus was on performance in the ring, this experience also provided invaluable international competition exposure, team building, personal development and, most importantly, a weekend of enjoyment and camaraderie that these young athletes will never forget. On the Saturday, Sasha Donica embarked on his first ever bout against an experienced English boxer and gave a great account of himself over the three rounds. It was close, with the Englishman having his hand raised in the end, but it was great experience for Sasha whose opponent went on to win the Box Cup. A Adam Walsh boxed a good, tall boxer from England in his semi-final, and after an uneventful first round Adam turned up the heat in the second and especially the third to get the win and progress to Sunday's finals with a fantastic display. P.J Mc Cullough boxed English opposition in his semi-final, and after a close first round PJ upped the gears in the second and third. In the view of the Tredagh camp he looked to have won convincingly, only for the decision to go to his opponent who went on to win the Box Cup. Charlie Flannagan boxed an English international and gave a great account of himself over the three rounds. In a bout that could have gone either way the Englishman's hand was raised at the end of a high-quality contest which proved how well Charlie is progressing. Again, the winner of that bout went on to win the Box Cup. In his bout Simon Mc Donagh was giving away a lot on height and experience. Despite this Simon worked hard and his best round was the second, but nevertheless his English opponent got the win and also went on to capture the Box Cup. Keith Muma had three hotly contested rounds with opposition from Northern Ireland, boxed brilliantly and had his hand raised to progress to the final. In Sunday's finals, first up for Tredag was Ceejay Sheelan who boxed a very experienced Great Britain boxer. Ceejay had his man on the back foot throughout the three rounds and caught his opponent with some sizzling combinations in a very high calibre contest. The verdict deservingly went to Ceejay to crown him s a Manchester Box Cup champion for 2025. Next up was Emma O'Gorman who had three fantastic rounds with a tall opponent from Ireland. Emma stayed on the front foot throughout and her hard-hitting backhand cross was significant over the three rounds. At the end she too was crowned as a Manchester Box Cup champion for 2025. Next up was Keith Muma who boxed a tall southpaw English opponent and this was another high-calibre contest in which Keith boxed very well technically. The Tredagh corner felt he won two of the three rounds, but in the end it was the Englishman's hand that was raised on a split decision. In his final young Adam Walsh boxed an Irish opponent who had looked very impressive in his semi-final the day before. However, Adam gave a masterclass display, technically outboxed his opponent for all three rounds and got stronger and stronger as the fight progressed. The final verdict was a unanimous decision in his favour to crown him as a Manchester Box Cup champion for 2025. There were still three more finals for the Tredagh contingent and next up was Jamie Campbell who boxed a tall, experienced English boxer in what proved to be an exciting three-round clash. Jamie landed some hard-hitting backhands and body shots throughout, but the English boxer had successes too and his hand was raised at the end. Cian Smyth was up against a tall, strong boxer from England and this was another fantastic contest, with the English fighter starting each round strong with hard-hitting shots. But young Cian rose to the occasion and mixed his technical skills and his own hard-hitting shots to wear down his opponent. His inside work to the body and vast array of punching combinations were particularly eye-catching and ultimately it was a unanimous points decision in Cian's favour - another Manchester Box Cup title for Tredagh. Last up for the local club was James Hackett who faced an experienced English boxer. The first round was a technical affair, with the English boxer perhaps just edging it, and his experience really showed in round two, forcing James to dig deep to stay in the bout. It was now or never for James in the third and in thrilling fashion he went for the stoppage, catching his opponent with a shot which put him on the canvas. James smelled blood and stalked his opponent for the whole round, landing some menacing backhand English boxer barely survived the round, but the final verdict was a split decision in his favour and that left Tredagh with an impressive tally of five gold and three silver medals from the tournament. Back in Ireland Cara Evans was crowned as a Monkstown International Box Cup champion in a competition where she has won best female boxer in years gone by. Four more Tredagh boxers took part in non-decision skills bouts at the Monkstown tournament in the packed-out National Stadium in Dublin - a fantastic experience for Tommy McCooey, Emma Carter, Roisin Evans and Shay McIllarney and their first step on their competitive journey. Meanwhile, fellow Tredagh boxer Jack Newman won a gold medal at the Senior Manchester Box Cup recently, and following on from her ninth All-Ireland success Grace Conway is attend High Performance Training in Abbotstown with the national squad.
Irish Independent
34 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
Mediahuis Ireland buys stake in Clubber
Clubber is best known for live-streaming club GAA games, offering a subscription service for fans and coaches. Mediahuis Ireland will acquire a minority stake in the business, understood to be around 25pc, in return for investment to support Clubber's plans for further expansion – not only in the GAA but across a broad range of Irish and international sports. As part of the tie-up, Mediahuis Ireland titles and their readers, including those of the Irish Independent and local news titles across the country, will have access to video content, including highlight reels. The chief operating officer of Mediahuis Ireland, Ian Keogh, will join the Clubber board as part of the agreement. Clubber was founded by Microsoft veteran Jimmy Doyle in 2020 and has quickly established itself as a streaming platform for live sports in Ireland, with a strong focus on GAA. It delivered 1,000 live and on-demand sports events in 2024. Its model includes agreeing multi-year streaming rights deals with GAA county boards for access to club matches, which traditionally have not been available for broadcast on any live service. Currently, games from 14 counties are being streamed. These include the Tipperary, Cork and Kilkenny hurling championships, the club football championships from Kerry, Kildare and Meath, plus the Camogie Club Championships. The model is built on combining scalable, tech-driven infrastructure with acquiring rights to a large volume of live sports in order to provide a comprehensive offering to fans of under-served competitions. The model is now being expanded into the UK, and into sports other than the GAA. David Courtney, Head of Sport at Mediahuis Ireland, said Clubber is transforming sports streaming. 'We are thrilled to partner with Clubber as it revolutionises the way Irish and international sport is streamed,' he said. 'This partnership underscores our commitment to supporting local sporting communities and providing unrivalled access to sporting stories that matter.'
