“Ireland want to shake England up a bit,” is the message from the back-row Aoife Wafer before the two teams clash in the Women’s Six Nations on Saturday. Wafer lays down the gauntlet to the defending champions on a video call, which she joins fresh from training in full kit, with her leg still strapped with tape.
Belief and confidence emanate through the laptop screen as she speaks about the possibility of ending England’s 31-game dominance in the tournament in Cork. “We want to show them that Ireland are not just there to sit down, we want to put it up to them,” the 22-year-old says. “We will have parts of our game we really want to go after and we think will work and maybe shock the English a little bit. We are all raring to go.”
The possibility of beating England, something Ireland have not done in a decade, may seem out of reach on the surface but Ireland’s progress in the past 12 months suggests an upset is attainable. In April 2024 Ireland lost 88-10 to England, conceding the most points they ever have against the Red Roses, but they ended the Six Nations tournament in third.
Their finishing spot qualified them for WXV 1 where they defeated New Zealand, the world champions, 29-27, a game in which Wafer scored two tries, and also recorded a victory over the USA. In the opening two rounds of the 2025 Women’s Six Nations they ran France close in a 27-15 loss and claimed their first Six Nations away win since 2021 in a huge 54-12 victory against Italy.
Wafer, who spent some time in her home county of Wexford during the fallow week, credits the uptick in form to many different factors. The Celtic Challenge competition has allowed time for combinations between players to grow, “crucial” players who compete in sevens rugby have returned to the 15s game and there has been a shift in culture – spearheaded by the leadership and culture lead, Sean Ryan. Wafer says the new coaching staff, including the head coach, Scott Bemand, who was previously England’s backs coach, and their honest approach have made a big difference.
She says: “They have impacted us in a huge way. It has just accelerated the way that we play. They bring that honesty factor and they are not afraid to be honest and be brave in that which trickles down into what we do.
“I think in the past there has probably been that thing of: ‘Oh, I don’t want to say X because it might hurt their feelings or it might not make them happy.’ But the lads and us as a group are very conscious that sometimes if someone hasn’t done something right they just need to be told because they might not even know. That honesty, it is there because at the end of the day we want Ireland to be successful.
“You need to know if you are doing it right or wrong. It’s honesty whether that is good or bad. It’s celebrating big wins and working on the little things.”
All of those factors have produced magnificent wins for the team and while they have improved several elements of their performances, for Wafer it is their adaptability from game to game which is bringing this Irish team results. Wafer, who was voted Ireland’s player of the year in 2024, says it is not something the group had in their back pocket previously and that it is what teams need to do in order to be successful.
She adds: “I think on our day and when we are at our best, we can beat anybody. That is something that has changed in our mindsets, we all believe that. We acknowledge that England are the best in the world but we also believe that we can do a job and that we can put our gameplan into action on Saturday. They are the best in the world but we also have a point to prove too.”
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From a laptop screen with Wafer to England’s Surrey training base at Pennyhill Park, where the prop Hannah Botterman says it is a question of whether Ireland’s actions can speak louder than words. When Wafer’s message is delivered to Botterman, she responds: “Every team is going to say that. It is if they can actually back it up and do it. We don’t focus massively on the opposition, we have things we go after game to game but our focus is on ourselves and how we want to play.
“It is great for Ireland and for a lot of teams. Sometimes they can go into games and probably not have a lot of hope that they are going to come away with the result that they want.
“For Ireland coming off WXV1 and this Six Nations they are going to be full of confidence and belief coming into this game. It is our job to shut that down as quickly as possible.”
Cork is expecting a sell-out crowd for the visit of the favourites. If the hosts do win it would not only shake up England but the entire tournament, and leave Ireland as unexpected title contenders.
