Ireland Women’s Team To Face England

Head Coach Greg McWilliams has named his Ireland Match Day Squad, sponsored by Aon, for Saturday’s TikTok Women’s Six Nations clash against England in Cork (kick-off 2.15pm, live on RTÉ2 and BBC2/BBC iPlayer).

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McWilliams has made three changes to the starting XV for the Round 4 encounter at Musgrave Park, with Vicky Irwin and Molly Scuffil-McCabe coming into the Ireland backline and Brittany Hogan replacing the injured Dorothy Wall in the back row.

Lauren Delany, Aoife Doyle and Natasja Behan are retained in the unchanged back three, with Irwin joining Aoife Dalton in midfield. Scuffil-McCabe comes into the side to partner Dannah O’Brien in the half-backs.

McWilliams has named an unchanged front row for the visit of the Rugby World Cup finalists to Cork, with Linda Djougang, Neve Jones and Christy Haney named to start and Captain Nichola Fryday and Sam Monaghan packing down in the second row.

Hogan comes in at blindside flanker, with Grace Moore continuing at openside and Deirbhile Nic a Bháird at number eight.

On the replacements bench, Clara Nielson, Sadhbh McGrath, Kathryn Buggy, Hannah O’Connor and Jo Brown provide the reinforcements up front, with the fit-again Nicole Cronin, Anna McGann and Méabh Deely completing the Match Day 23.

Commenting ahead of the game, McWilliams said: “We are under no illusions of the size of the task ahead of us with a world class England team coming to Cork, but this is a test we will embrace and relish. We are aiming to get better week-on-week and the squad remain focused on our process, preparation and attitude.

“This journey will involve many twists and turns, but as a group of players and management, we have confidence in each other and in the collective belief that we are on a path of progression.

“We are excited to be back at Musgrave Park in front of our supporters, and their backing at this stage of our development as a team is hugely valued.”

Saturday’s match is live on RTÉ2 and BBC2/BBC iPlayer, with live updates across the Irish Rugby Twitter and Instagram channels.

Ireland Women’s Team & Replacements

15. Lauren Delany (Sale Sharks/IQ Rugby) 20
14. Aoife Doyle (Railway Union RFC/Munster) 15
13. Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) 5
12. Vicky Irwin (Sale Sharks/Ulster) 4
11. Natasja Behan (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster) 5
10. Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) 5
9. Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Railway Union RFC/Leinster) 7

1. Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) 27
2. Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury/Ulster) 16
3. Christy Haney (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster) 8
4. Nichola Fryday (Exeter Chiefs/Connacht) (capt) 32
5. Sam Monaghan (Gloucester-Hartpury/IQ Rugby) 13
6. Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster) 13
7. Grace Moore (Saracens/IQ Rugby) 8
8. Deirbhile Nic a Bháird (Old Belvedere RFC/Munster) 7

Replacements:

16. Clara Nielson (Exeter Chiefs/IQ Rugby) 2
17. Sadhbh McGrath (City of Derry RFC/Cooke RFC/Ulster) 3
18. Kathryn Buggy (Gloucester-Hartpury/IQ Rugby) 2
19. Hannah O’Connor (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster) 17
20. Jo Brown (Worcester Warriors/IQ Rugby) 2
21. Nicole Cronin (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster) 22
22. Anna McGann (Railway Union RFC/Connacht) 4
23. Méabh Deely (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht) 5