Ireland Women’s 7s Squad Named For Kitakyushu 7s

The Ireland Women’s 7s squad to travel to Japan ahead of the third leg of the World Rugby Women’s Sevens World Series in Kitakyushu has been named.

Aoife Doyle (Shannon and Railway Union), Louise Galvin (UL Bohemian), and Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird (UL Bohemian) have all been selected.

The squad of 13 will be captained by Lucy Mulhall and includes the uncapped Kathy Baker, who has progressed through the Ireland 7s pathways at U18 & Senior Development included for her first World Series trip.

Four players, Ashleigh Baxter, Katie Fitzhenry, Louise Galvin and Hannah Tyrell lined out for the Ireland Women’s 15s side during the Six Nations.

Also Included in the squad are experienced Sevens players Doyle, Stacey Flood, Amee-Leigh Murphy-Crowe, and Audrey O’Flynn.

Eve Higgins, Katie Heffernan and Nic A Bhaird complete the squad.

Ireland are drawn into Pool A with Commonwealth Games Silver Medallists Australia, as well as China and Spain.

On confirmation of the squad, Ireland Sevens Coach, Stan McDowell said:

“Kitakyushu is set to be an exciting tournament for us.

Having finished in 7th place in Sydney, it’s about looking to progress on so we’ll be looking to put in three good performances on Day 1 to set us up for a good Day 2.

Several of the sides at the tournament will have competed at the Commonwealth Games so they will be coming into Japan with good game time under their belts, so it’s about us being prepared and getting off to a good start in our opening game against Spain.”

The Kitakyushu 7s takes place at the Mikuni World Stadium and kicks off on Saturday April 21st, with the finals on Sunday April 22nd.

Ireland Women’s 7s – Kitakyushu 7s, Mikuni Stadium, Kitakyushu
Ashleigh Baxter (Cooke RFC)
Kathy Baker (Blackrock College RFC)*
Aoife Doyle (Shannon RFC & Railway Union RFC)
Katie Fitzhenry (Blackrock College RFC)
Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC)
Katie Heffernan (Railway Union RFC)
Louise Galvin (UL Bohemian RFC)
Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC)
Lucy Mulhall (Rathdrum RFC)
Amee-Leigh Murphy-Crowe (Railway Union RFC)
Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird (UL Bohemian RFC)
Audrey O’Flynn (Ireland Sevens)
Hannah Tyrrell (Old Belvedere RFC)

*Denotes uncapped at this level

Ireland Women’s 7s – Kitakyushu 7s Fixtures – Pool A
Saturday 21st April 2018
Spain v Ireland – 11:14am (local time)/3:14am (Irish time)
Australia v Ireland – 2:20pm (local time)/6:20am (Irish time)
Ireland v Fiji – 4:42pm (local time)/8:42am (Irish time)

Sunday 22nd April 2018
Finals Day

The games will be streamed live in the World Rugby Sevens Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/worldrugby7s

For more info on the HSBC Women’s Sevens Series, visit: https://www.worldrugby.org/womens-sevens-series
The Ireland 7s jerseys are available from Elverys Intersport, official sports retailer of the IRFU: http://www.elverys.ie/elverys/en/Elverys/Rugby/Ireland/Rugby7s/c/6497