Anna Caplice Column: Things for Ireland to reflect on and look forward to

The dust has settled on an epic weekend of rugby in Dublin where a record breaking 31,294 supporters came out to the Aviva Stadium to watch Ireland take on Scotland.

That historic occasion was the perfect way to end an exciting and momentous campaign for Ireland at the 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

Let’s look back at some of the biggest moments for Ireland from this year and look forward to what the future could hold for this team.

Five things to reflect on

Four weekends of occasion and atmosphere

We are at a stage in the women’s game where we are being served up an “occasion” with almost every fixture. Of course, every international Test match will be a significant day for any squad member, but right now we are experiencing match days like never before.

In Round 1, Ireland took on the world champions and eventual Grand Slam champions, England, in the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, in front of over 77,000 supporters. The following week was a record-breaking crowd in Galway and in Round 3 there was a trip to a sold-out stadium in Clermont.

As if that wasn’t enough, the whole campaign was topped off by hammering Scotland in front of almost 32,ooo fans at home in Dublin. The more the players become accustomed to the noise, the excitement, the pressure, the more comfortable they will become in that environment – and this year’s competition certainly pumped up that intensity.

New Leadership

After recovering from an almost career ending knee injury which caused her to miss last year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, Erin King was back in her number seven jersey, but this time with an extra armband.

With his eyes on the future, head coach Scott Bemand elected the 22-year-old to take the reins and what a choice it has been. Leading by example on the pitch she is the epitome of the term we love to use in rugby: a work horse. She made the most successful tackles of any player in the Women’s Six Nations with 80, hit the most rucks with 243, and alongside England’s Amy Cokayne made the most turnovers [seven].

As well as being a leader who leads through her actions, she has a wonderful way with words and has given us great insight into the team as well as constantly giving a nod to those who have paved the way for her and her teammates to be where they are today.

New discovery on the wing

With the absence of Amee Leigh Costigan due to her pregnancy, a space in the squad opened up for head coach Scott Bemand to experiment with. With a strong two thirds of a back three, the likely contender to join Stacey Flood and Beibhinn Parsons was Anna McGann.

Vicky Elmes-Kinlan and later Robyn O’Connor were both given a shot. O’Connor bloomed into the role and finished the Championship with an outstanding performance, including a fabulous try and a fabulous assist to send Aoife Wafer swan diving under the posts in the Aviva Stadium last Sunday.

Back to their best

With the discovery and maturity of a lot of youth within the squad, it is some of the older members who we’ve known for quite some time that shone brightest in this campaign.

Cliodhna Moloney-McDonald, Beibhinn Parsons and Dorothy Wall were three of the standout performers from this campaign and have proved that they are not ready to be surpassed by youth just yet.

Minimal injuries

To make it to round 5 with an almost full deck of cards to choose from is a luxury not many coaches in the Six Nations have experienced. It is a testament to the robustness of the players that are on full time playing contracts and training more than ever. Credit must be given to the performance staff working with this squad who are stronger and fitter than we’ve ever seen.

Five things to look forward to

A back-row for the ages

Having already discussed the impact that Erin King has had on the pitch we look at her back row accomplices in Brittany Hogan and Aoife Wafer.

We may have witnessed some Irish back-row brilliance in the past when the likes of Claire Molloy and Ciara Griffin were still lacing up their boots, but if this current back row continues the way it is, we will be looking at a legacy that may never be topped.

Hogan and Wafer scored five tries each, the same as England full-back and well-known try-scoring machine Ellie Kildunne. With an average age of 24 we have a lot more to look forward to with this combo.

Underage Irish sides

More structure to the pathway means more opportunities to play and more opportunities to lead. When we look at how France’s strength at underage has fed directly into their senior team with fearless and impactful young players, I can only feel excited for what this might mean for Ireland.

Both the Under-18 and Under-21 sides had successful campaigns where the players discovered their strengths and identities in an Irish shirt before their senior debuts. Learning how to win in green can be no bad habit.

Out-half back-up

Dannah O’Brien played every minute of this year’s championship. As impressive and honourable as that may be, we need healthy competition for all players to reach their potential and maybe give them a little rest when the work is done.

Munster out-half Caitriona Finn has been on the fringes of the squad for a while and starred against England in the U21 series. At 20 years old we can hopefully look forward to a debut in the new season.

The final piece of the puzzle – 22 conversion rate

Scott Bemand said in a press conference during the tournament that “we have become a team that creates opportunities.” With increasing amounts of possession, territory, set piece dominance and massive turnover moments, I would say that this is a pretty accurate description of the type of rugby that Ireland is producing.

He added that “we are becoming a team that takes those opportunities.” This is the next building block to be added to the strong structure of Irish performance.

You can’t run before you walk, and with Ireland already of finishing off with tries in opposition 22m against Scotland, Wales and Italy, it is the bigger dogs where this progression will eventually start to pay off.

Back to the Aviva?

After winning all home games this year, the challenge will look slightly different for the 2027 competition, who announced the running order last week. With France and England coming to town, and with a pinnacle finishing moment at the Aviva this year, surely we can push this show to a two-date production.

It’s hard to believe that only a few weeks ago we were celebrating breaking a record with 9,206 supporters turning up to the Dexcom Stadium in Round 2. With a 246 per cent increase in attendance just a month later at the Aviva Stadium, we can only imagine how much further the Green Wave can carry us.