More to come from Ireland after beating Scots - Bemand

Breaking news from the world of sport: More to come from Ireland after beating Scots - BemandImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ireland won three of their five Women's Six Nations fixtures as they finished thirdByJana McCabeBBC Sport NI journalistPublished39 minutes agoThe 2026 Women's Six Nations has felt like another significant step forward for a young but talented Ireland side. A year ago, Scotland caught Ireland cold and claimed a 26-19 victory in Edinburgh. Fast forward 12 months and Ireland responded with a 54-5 thrashing of Sione Fukofuka's depleted team in Dublin, illustrating ever-growing improvement.

Bemand's side cemented themselves as the best of the rest in third, behind dominant champions England and runners-up France, while also completing the task they set out to achieve this campaign - winning all three of their home games. Sunday's finale, in front of a record crowd at the Aviva Stadium, will live long in the memory, not only for the history the attendance figures created, but Ireland's sensational first-half demolition of the Scots. The crowd of 31,294 underlined growing support for the team.

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If they can continue to produce ruthless displays and get the wins they have in Galway, Belfast and Dublin in this campaign, that spectator number will only get bigger. Bemand believes that the experience of playing in front of increasingly large crowds will only help his young side as they continue to develop in a new cycle with the next World Cup three years away. "Playing in front of 77,000 people at Twickenham, then going to Clermont which I've got to say was one of the best rugby experiences in a partisan sense, then we follow it up by having a crowd, a 16th player, here at the Aviva.

We're becoming so rich in terms of experiences that we've been through," Bemand said. "Unbelievable performances, but there's more in them as well. We're growing our wave.

I leave here with a sense that there's only more to come. "Wafer's 'wildest dream comes true' in historic Aviva win Published15 hours agoIreland thrash Scotland in front of record crowd Published16 hours agoIreland 'exactly where we want to be' at start of new cycle Figure caption, Ireland take apart Scotland with a dominate first half displayThe Six Nations has been a tournament with plenty of positives for Ireland, who finished with one more win than they managed in 2025. They racked up 14 points, three better than last year and vastly improved their points difference, up from plus five to plus 67.

While they fell to defeats against eventual winners England and a strong France, failing in their World Cup revenge mission, Ireland responded well and channelled frustrations from those games to beat Italy, Wales and the Scots, saving their best performance for last. Integral to their success has been Erin King, who started all five games after returning from a lengthy period out due to a knee injury.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.