Ireland's hard-fought win over Scotland, which secured a third-place finish in the Women’s Six Nations and World Cup qualification, was filled with "character and resilience", said head coach Scott Bemand.
This time last season Ireland finished bottom of the pile with a wooden spoon but were able to sign off on Bemand’s first campaign in charge with two wins and elevation to WXV1.
Ireland laboured for long spells in the first half in Belfast and trailed 5-0 at the break.
But they came out of the traps quickly and Katie Corrigan scored the hosts’ opening try after two minutes, while Clíodhna Moloney and five points from the boot of Dannah O’Brien secured a 15-12 victory.
Asked what the message at half-time was, Bemand said with a smile: "Try to get some points for all the pressure you’re getting.
"It’s a bit of a mental battle, games like this and we put ourselves under bit of pressure early doors.
"The girls were great in terms of working their way through that. Then we had 15 minutes and it’s all Ireland, Ireland, Ireland and a bit like [the loss to] Italy, no points.
"So we got back to the changing room and said, 'no panic’, we’re fine, we’re putting ourselves in good positions and we identified things we can go and do and then we were able to come out pretty swiftly after half-time and execute and start putting points on the board.
"Scotland are a good team so they were never going to make it easy.
"How the girls managed to come through that first half, and it could have rattled them, and it didn’t and they came back on the front foot and what we are seeing now is a group that is stacked full of charisma and resilience whether the game is going for you or against you, they can find a way to win."
Former England assistant Bemand took over last summer after a harrowing period for the women’s team.
Off-field matters dominated the narrative around the squad but progress, as evidenced by Ireland’s best finish since 2020, has been made.
"I'm really proud," added the former Bath and Harlequins scrum-half (above).
"How was everybody feeling last week [after the 88-10 loss to England]?
"We can ask everybody: the public, the media but the stability of the group is we know what we were after. It's a real strength of our environment.
"That's not just me. That's not just the players. It's the support staff. It's everything.
"It's the hierarchy. It's the IRFU. We're a stable group so we know it's not going to be a linear piece.
"We know it's going to come with some highs and lows. We just keep looking to take the next step."
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