Sinéad Kissane: World Cup qualification is cherry on top after memorable Irish victory

A second win in the championship. Third in the table. Automatic qualification for next year’s Rugby World Cup in England, which will be their first appearance in the global tournament since 2017. It’s fair to say Ireland left Belfast with the bounty.

Emotions ran loose on the pitch after Dannah O’Brien kicked the ball out to seal a dramatic 15-12 victory. It followed a thrilling and raucous endgame in front of a record crowd of 7,468.

The Ireland defence — torn apart against England last week — was defiant as it absorbed Scotland’s late waves of attack. It was O’Brien’s penalty after 73 minutes, following a brilliant break by Aoife Wafer, that proved the difference. What a juncture to take the lead for the first and decisive time.

This Ireland squad does a good line in turnarounds. Who could have predicted this finish at the start of the championship? To go from a wooden-spoon finish with zero points last year to third in the table a year later?

Who could have foreseen them wrapping up World Cup qualification at the first time of asking? Heck, who could have predicted this outcome after a despairing first half yesterday, when they played like a team that had its confidence rocked by what happened at Twickenham last weekend?

And yet, Ireland flipped it around in the second half, with tries from Katie Corrigan and Cliodhna Moloney showing the defiance and soul of this team.

Securing a place at the 2025 Rugby World Cup was like a bridge being built from the past to the future. From the disappointing eighth-place finish at Ireland’s home World Cup in 2017, which meant they had to qualify for the next edition — and the failure to do that in September 2021, when Scotland scored a late try to beat Ireland in their final qualifier in Parma.

The debate will be had over whether Ireland are ready to play in Tier 1 of the WXV in Canada later this year. It will be a near rags-to-riches rise after they played Tier 3 last year. But the big picture is they have a World Cup to prepare for and resources will need to match that.

Let’s rewind a moment to how Ireland made it hard for themselves in the first half at Ravenhill. This game was reduced to its bare essentials beforehand: it was a straight shoot-out for third place after Italy were beaten 22-20 by Wales.

But Ireland’s play was punctured by errors and poor decision-making. Scotland scored early with a try off a lineout maul. And while Ireland had chances before half-time to score, their decision to keep faith with a malfunctioning lineout was a reminder of that line about the definition of insanity. It looked like the decision not to take the points would come back to haunt Ireland as they trailed 0-5 at the break.

But Ireland came out like a new team in the second half. Head coach Scott Bemand — who has shown an aptitude for keeping it on the level even after the England demolition last week — said he told them in the dressing room not to panic. The second half was just a minute old when Corrigan skimmed down the wing to score her third try of this championship.

And there was something apt and heart-lifting with Moloney scoring Ireland’s second. The Galway woman, who was excluded from the squad for over two years, scored one of the most important Ireland tries.

What a first season it’s been for Bemand. Sure, they’ve huge improvements to make and he could do with a line-out specialist coach in his backroom team because that could have been their undoing. But he knows they’ve plenty to work on.

It’s been rollercoaster of a Women’s Six Nations. The five-try 36-5 win over Wales in round three in Cork went beyond expectations. They showed signs of intent in their 21-27 defeat to Italy two weeks previously, but they self-sabotaged with 28 handling errors and some poor decision-making which was also evident in the first half in Ravenhill. But the emerging pattern from this team — and while it may not always be linear — is that they do learn on the job.

​Other highlights? They all struggled in Twickenham but Aoife Wafer has been Ireland’s best player of the championship and she showed it again in the second half against Scotland. Honourable mention too to co-captain Sam Monaghan. The sevens players absolutely showed their value.

Béibhinn Parsons, Eve Higgins and Aoibheann Reilly bedded in as the competition went on and were instrumental in the Wales win. There’s a special noise reserved for Parsons and it was heard when she made that brilliant second-half break. Now they’ve got the Paris Olympics to come this summer.

It was like no-one wanted to leave Ravenhill. The players stood as long as they could on the pitch celebrating with family and friends. Moments like this have been rare after all the controversies and disappointments. But it’s a special bottom line this time. Ireland are going to a World Cup. How’s that for a future?