Bemand says Ireland will regroup from King blow

Scott Bemand, Ireland’s head coach, is confident that his squad will recover from the defeat of renowned flanker Erin King for the duration of the Six Nations and the World Cup later this year.

The full extent of King’s knee injury was revealed on Thursday following Ireland’s defeat by England last weekend.

Bemand’s team plays Wales at Rodney Parade on Sunday, and while it does affect you, “we understand injuries can happen.”

“She has really been circled around by the group really well.” We don’t want to mop, Erin says. She wants us to perform at a venue.

Because Erin is still a member of the group and its environs, we’ll take some of her energy to training this week and bring it with us to Wales.

Edel McMahon, the squad skipper, may return to the back row after missing the England game due to a knock, while Claire Boles, a native of Enniskillen, will make an alternative substitution for the unlucky King.

We can’t rely on just one player, they say. The depth needs to be kept growing. Girls are entering, the Ireland coach said.

This week, Edel is back online. Claire Boles has excelled at the camp and has her own distinctive open-side flanker. There are some choices available to us. We’re all good, and we’ll be able to perform.

Although Bemand revealed that King’s injury is related to her cartilage rather than her cruciate ligaments, it is still serious enough to thwart her chances of winning the World Cup.

The Ireland coach continued, “The doctors told her that they were surprised she could continue, but she claimed that it was just a niggle.”

After the game, it actually deteriorated. So it wasn’t like she was unable to move or run around during the game.

In Cork, Ireland took the early lead over England. Bemand believed that his team’s first-half weaknesses contributed just as much to the ultimately crushing defeat, despite England’s 49-5 victory in the second half, which left them with 42 unanswered points.

It’s more important to examine the second half than the first. What does England team talk look like at half-time if we get that bit right and we’re 15-17-0 up at half-time? “he said.