Ireland head coach Scott Bemand has declared his side ready for the pressure of facing France in Clermont on Saturday, citing valuable lessons from recent big-game experiences.
Ireland opened their Women's Six Nations campaign with a 33-12 loss to England at a record-filled Twickenham, and also faced New Zealand and France in front of near-capacity crowds during last year's World Cup. Bemand believes those high-stakes encounters will serve his squad well as they seek a first-ever win on French soil.
"We've got the benefit now with our group having come through the World Cup piece where we had full stadiums, a lot of noise and a lot of expectation, internal expectation," Bemand said. "Going away to France is a class experience. We were away in England two weeks ago so we've had a recent opportunity of stepping into that sort of arena."
The coach noted a shift in his team's mindset since their last big away matches. "I saw a completely different group to two years ago walking into that space, so as we continue to evolve, continue to get more confident in ourselves and our performances, I think we're ready for this one."
Bemand has made only one change to the side that thrashed Italy 57-20 last week. He emphasized that the squad's mood is one of "excitement and anticipation rather than nerves."
"We're ready for this, we've trained well this week," he added. "We're now recovering, we'll travel, we're going to enjoy it. The weather looks good over there and we'll be absolutely gunning to start and get out of the blocks when the whistle goes on Saturday night."
The match kicks off at 20:10 BST at Stade Marcel-Michelin and will be broadcast live on BBC Two NI and the BBC Sport website and app.