A few wins on home soil would be a step in the right direction, according to former player Fiona Hayes.
Ireland embark on a new campaign in the TikTok Six Nations this weekend, and after the disappointment of failing to qualify for the World Cup, it's an important one.
Still, even with a new head coach, the clash with Sevens is going to continue to be an issue for the side with several Six Nations games clashing with the World Series.
Probably most importantly, the final home game, in Belfast against Scotland, clashes with the Canadian leg of the Sevens series.
This is an issue that McWilliams said he is aware of, but was adamant that they would find a way to cope and work alongside the Sevens team.
"The Sevens players are incredibly professional and they’ve been coached brilliantly and they are going to be important to us but we need to build depth within the squad. .
"We’ve talked as a group about this. We allowed the players to have a say in how selection is carried out, we are all very comfortable with that.
"We have the Sevens team, we think it’s important that as many as possible go to Langford and represent the women for the World Series because it’s a World Cup year.
"I’m telling you now that we are going to have a World Cup year for 15s and we need to play ball with them, we need to work together.
McWilliams comes in as the replacement for Adam Griggs, who's time as head coach came to an end after the disappointment of the World Cup qualifiers at the tail-end of last year.
And his appointment is a positive one according to Fiona Hayes, who says McWilliams is the perfect personality to get Ireland women's rugby pointing back in the right direction.
"No better man than Greg McWilliams to keep everyone aligned.", Hayes told Off The Ball.
"His personality would be exceptional in getting everyone in camp to deal with those issues, get players on board and get everyone buying into his system."
"His personality is the type that you want to play for him, you want to buy into what he's telling you."
Ireland won two of their three games in last year's tournament, so what would success look like this year?
"For me a good Six Nations would be winning the home games. I think they have the ability to do that."
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