ULSTER duo Fiona Tuite and Brittany Hogan keep their places in the Ireland Women’s starting line up for Saturday’s second WXV1 clash against Canada at Langley Events Centre (kick-off 3.45pm local time/11.45pm BST).
Ireland opened their WXV1 campaign with a brilliant victory over New Zealand at BC Place last weekend, and will be looking to continue their positive form when they go head-to-head with the host nation.
Captain Edel McMahon has been ruled out of this weekend’s match after sustaining a knock in training earlier in the week, meaning Enya Breen will deputise and lead Ireland for the first time.
Head Coach Scott Bemand has named an unchanged back three as Stacey Flood, Eimear Considine and Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe retain their starting places, with Eve Higgins joining Breen in the Ireland midfield. Dannah O’Brien is joined in the half-backs by Emily Lane, who comes in for her first Test start in green.
In the pack, Niamh O’Dowd, Clíodhna Moloney and Linda Djougang are named in the front row, with Dorothy Wall and Fiona Tuite continuing in the engine room.
Erin King, who came off the bench to score two tries against the Black Ferns, earns her first start at blindside flanker, Aoife Wafer switches to openside in the absence of McMahon and Brittany Hogan is once again in the number eight jersey.
Bemand has strong options on his bench, with Neve Jones, Siobhán McCarthy, Andrea Stock, Grace Moore and Deirbhile Nic a Bháird providing the forward reinforcements, while Molly Scuffil-McCabe, Nicole Fowley and Aoife Dalton complete the Match Day 23.
Looking ahead to Saturday, the Ireland Head Coach said: “We were really pleased to get our campaign off to a winning start last weekend and there has been a real hunger within the group this week to reset the focus. We want to keep momentum going and be a bit better again this week. Character and performance will keep this moving forward.
“A number of players have earned their opportunity in a green jersey on Saturday having worked hard to compete across the week and it will be a special moment for Enya to lead the team for the first time, supported by our leaders. A strong Canada outfit will provide a different challenge for us and we’re looking forward to testing ourselves against one of the best teams in the world.”
Meanwhile Ulster’s Brittany Hogan believes last weekend’s historic win over New Zealand can be a springboard for the rest of the tournament and the future.
Brittany told ulster.rugby: “Yes definitely. We won’t get ahead of ourselves in the tournament. We know that every game is a new opportunity and that we will just keep gaining respect from other countries and teams we play against.
“We pride ourselves on being incredibly difficult to play against, we will never stop fighting and experiences like last weekend just builds our mental side of the game which will definitely stand to us in the future.
“It proves to us that we are well capable to compete against the world’s best and that we deserve to be where we are. We were completely written off before that game but we all stuck together and showed a glimpse of our ability. It’s really exciting for our future.”
Saturday’s match is live on RugbyPass TV.
Ireland (v Canada):
15. Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC)(12)
14. Eimear Considine (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)(28)
13. Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC)(19)
12. Enya Breen (Blackrock College RFC/Munster)(23)
11. Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union RFC/Munster)(11)
10. Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(17)
9. Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC)(8)
1. Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(9)
2. Clíodhna Moloney (Exeter Chiefs)(36)
3. Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(39)
4. Dorothy Wall (Exeter Chiefs/Munster)(30)
5. Fiona Tuite (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster)(8)
6. Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC)(2)
7. Aoife Wafer (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster)(9)
8. Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster)(25)
Replacements:
16. Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury)(28)
17. Siobhán McCarthy (Worcester Warriors/Munster)(2)
18. Andrea Stock (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby)*
19. Grace Moore (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby)(16)
20. Deirbhile Nic a Bháird (Old Belvedere RFC/Munster)(9)
21. Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Leinster)(18)
22. Nicole Fowley (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)(12)
23. Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(16)
* Denotes uncapped player
