Scott Bemand: “Strength in adversity” key after 42-14 Japan win

Ireland boss Scott Bemand insisted his side’s strength in adversity will stand them in good stead for the rest of the World Cup after overcoming Japan 42-14.

Six tries decorated an ultimately emphatic Irish victory, but the scoreline failed to reflect how hard they had been pushed in the second half of the Group C clash at Franklin’s Gardens.

Trailing 28-14 and with the wind in their sails as they staged an electric comeback, Japan were on the brink of scoring again, only for Eve Higgins to anticipate a key pass under her posts and grab the intercept before running the length of the field to finish.

‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

Ireland’s World Cup campaign was up and running, but Bemand admitted they had been forced to battle hard against the team ranked 11th in the world.

“We talk about coming through adversity, and it’s pretty important to defend some sets on your line. The defence was outstanding because Japan are good when they get close to the line,” he said.

“They say they’re not as big as other teams, so they make themselves as small as possible and low to the ground. It’s very hard to stop, and we got some of it right and some of it wrong.

“There were some sublime moments out there, but also some moments that we know we will have to be better at.

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“As an opener, we’ve got what we wanted – we scored some tries with some variety, we’ve shown some forward power and backs’ prowess, but we’ll need to be better each week to get to where we want.

“We went after a fast start and got the two tries on the board. There was a little bit of variety as well, and that is going to be increasingly important as we go through the competition.”

Ireland take on Spain next Sunday, also at Franklin’s Gardens, before completing their group campaign against New Zealand in Brighton on September 7.

“We want to keep building momentum and keep giving people something to get after. We want to show people what we can do,” Bemand said.

“If we can come out of this competition with everyone in Ireland supporting us and being everybody else’s favourite second team, that would be great.”