Steenson, the team’s backs and attack coach, believes the lessons learned from that collapse will prove valuable. \u201cIf we\u2019d have snuck a win there, would we be talking the same way we have been? Probably not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"Ireland](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/5239351_9_articleinline_95796_3044391.jpg\" "\\"Ireland")
Ireland Kicking Coach Gareth Steenson. Picture: INPHO\/Nick Elliott<\/p>\n
\u201cAs much as it isn\u2019t great that we\u2019re sitting here talking off the back of a loss, the performance is going to be something that\u2019s going to be a catalyst.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n It\u2019s something we probably need. The old classic, you learn more when you lose.\n <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a learning curve. You have to live these sort of moments, and realistically with the girls, how many times have they actually lived in that space? How many times over the course of years have they been in a position where they\u2019re points up? They\u2019ve always been in an arm wrestle or chasing points down.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ireland made a fast start against the USA and were in control for much of the 50 minutes, leading 17-0 and later 31-12. But they struggled to maintain that momentum as the visitors fought their way back.<\/p>\n
For Steenson, the issue centres on learning how to manage a game when in front.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked about having a fast start, we got that,\u201d he said. \u201cNow, that doesn\u2019t mean you have to keep scoring points, but it\u2019s actually how do you keep momentum whenever it\u2019s wrestled back.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s in our control. That\u2019s why I think this game is going to be really good for us because it puts us in a place where we can have conversations with the girls that we probably wouldn\u2019t have had if we\u2019d come out with the right result.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ireland\u2019s transition between attack and defence is another area they are seeking to improve, with Steenson stressing the importance of getting the basics right rather than forcing the game when holding a lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tendency is, and we\u2019ve been guilty of this, that you get points up, you think you have to keep playing to get points up,\u201d Steenson reflected.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut ironically, if you just do the basics well, whether that\u2019s with the ball or without the ball, playing in the right areas, what you tend to find is the opposition start trying to do things and make mistakes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Dannah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/5239354_9_articleinline_3572865.jpg\" "\\"Dannah")
Dannah O’Brien in action for Ireland last weekend. Picture: Shauna Clinton\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n
Both Steenson and head coach Scott Bemand have spoken calmly about the defeat. Steenson acknowledges there was frustration and hurt when the squad regrouped on Monday, but says the key is channelling that emotion in the right direction.<\/p>\n
\n USA played a game that worked for them. They worked out what they needed to do, and we just couldn\u2019t wrestle it back off them.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
“Now if we\u2019re in that scenario again, I think now we\u2019ll be better equipped for what we require at that time,” he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got another home game this weekend against a team that the last time we played in the World Cup it went well for us, but they\u2019re going to be hurting as well after what happened to them in Italy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re at home, the conditions are probably going to play a certain way, which means we\u2019ve got another opportunity to develop our game and talk about it in a different way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have put a lot of time into being clear in what we want to go after, and there\u2019s real clarity around how we want to approach the game, with and without the ball and with and without wind.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel we\u2019re equipped. We don\u2019t expect it to be perfect. If we get the right sort of attitude around what we want to do, we can express ourselves in the best way possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is no panic in the Ireland camp after their defeat by the USA, with Gareth Steenson insisting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":635416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3347,61,60,43],"class_list":["post-635415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-irish-womens-rugby","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=635415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/635416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=635415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=635415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}