Ireland chase 'performance' in pool decider against NZ

Ireland head coach Scott Bemand said victory over New Zealand in their final World Cup Pool C game would give them "real momentum" heading into the quarter-finals.

Bemand's side have recorded two bonus-point wins against Japan and Spain to reach the knockout stages of the competition with a game to spare.

They now face World Cup holders New Zealand, who have also won their first two fixtures, with the two sides vying to claim top spot in Pool C.

"We want to keep momentum going and to do that we have to compete against World Cup contenders. New Zealand have earned the right to call themselves World Cup contenders and we want to create some problems," he told BBC Sport NI.

"We believe we have results and performances in us, it is about timing those going into a quarter-final - and getting that [New Zealand] game 100% right is absolutely crucial, and it will give us some real momentum by going well.

"We won't go after the result, we will go after the performance. We're starting to build belief. We are putting points on the board so can we [win]? Anything is possible."

Bemand will hope to have co-captain Sam Monaghan and influential back-row Aoife Wafer back for the New Zealand game in Brighton on Sunday.

Monaghan went off injured against Spain whilst Wafer has missed both Pool C wins as she continues her recovery from a knee injury.

Wafer has been training with the squad in England, but Bemand confirmed they are still unsure as to how long Monaghan will be out for.

"Sam picked up a bump and of course we missed Sam, she's a brilliant player and a great leader but there is the bigger picture that we need her deep in the competition," Bemand said.

"The truth is the next 24 hours will tell us everything, she got picked up and she landed on her hip, so she wasn't moving as well as we liked so we decided to take her off."