WXV 'forces nations to invest' in women's game – McMahon
While Ireland do get annual tests against England and France in the Six Nations, they have not played either of their next two opponents, the Black Ferns and Canada, since 2016.
In the current squad, only Nicole Fowley and Cliodhna Moloney were involved in those fixtures eight years ago.
“It’s pretty exciting, isn’t it?” said Aoife Wafer, McMahon’s fellow flanker who was named player of the match against Australia.
“We’ve a relatively new squad in that sense, but everyone will be hungry for it.”
Ireland were in WXV3 last time around, beating Kazakhstan, Colombia and Spain in Dubai last October. The jump to the top tier brings with it a far greater standard of opposition, but after Saturday’s win, Ireland will travel to Vancouver with confidence and ranked the seventh best team in the world.
“I think it’s a really exciting place to go into that off the back of [beating Australia],” added Wafer.
“We’re going in and playing the top teams in the world and that’s what we want to do. To be the best, you have to play the best.
“To get that opportunity in a World Cup year is absolutely brilliant and we wouldn’t want it any other way.”