Co-captain Edel McMahon believes three away victories are more important than Ireland’s finishing position in the Women’s Six Nations.
Ireland had been without an away victory in the Six Nations since 2021 but take on Scotland on Saturday after wins in Italy and Wales.
Regardless of the result in Scotland, the Irish look set to finish the tournament as they are five points clear of Italy with a vastly superior points difference.
“Three wins away from home is what we targeted as a squad,” said McMahon, who is co-captain with the injured Sam Monaghan.
“We want to be getting wins away from home, and that builds confidence heading into the World Cup.”
Scotland, who have just one victory in this year’s Six Nations, won 36-10 in Edinburgh in 2023 while Dannah O’Brien’s late penalty handed Ireland a 15-12 win last year.
Ireland will head into the game without injured back row Aoife Wafer, but Niamh O’Dowd returns in the front row after sitting out the 40-14 win in Wales.
“Our history with Scotland has been a bit tit-for-tat, so we’re just focused on the game and we’ll worry about the table after that,” added McMahon.
“We respect Scotland and they know they will give us a good fight.
“We know it’s not going to be enough to turn up.”
