Ulster prop Sophie Barrett won Ireland’s Most Valuable Player award for last year’s Summer Series
BY RICHARD BULLICK
FRONT row duo Sophie Barrett and Maebh Clenaghan are among just three Ulster representatives in Niamh Briggs’ 35-player Ireland Under 20 squad for the Women’s Six Nations Summer Series tournament in Wales which gets underway this weekend.
The emerging greens face the host nation at Ystrad Mynach on Saturday (3.30pm) with further fixtures against France next Friday (3.30pm) and Scotland the following Thursday (1.00pm) with all matches being broadcast live on the Six Nations Youtube channel.
Clenaghan missed last July’s first staging of this tournament, which was in Parma, but the Queen’s University Medicine undergraduate has been heavily involved in this pioneering era of female age group international rugby for Ireland.
She featured in the inaugural Under 18 Six Nations Festival at Easter 2022 and was part of the first ever Ireland Under 20 women’s squad, which travelled to Italy two summers ago for what was a forerunner to this tournament.
Each of the six competing countries is allowed to select up to five overage players in each matchday squad and the 21-year-old Clenaghan is in that category along with fellow Ulster forward Barrett, who won the Most Valuable Player award for Ireland last July.
Having been brought to the WXV1 tournament in Canada last autumn and included in this spring’s Six Nations squad, Barrett was expected to be part of Ireland’s World Cup preparations this summer but just five props were named in the initial training group.
The flame-haired 21-year-old from Ballinamallard presumably remains in pole position should there be any injuries or if Ireland elect to take six props to the World Cup after all but, for now, all she can do is make a good impression with the Under 20s like last sumer.
There are a dozen survivors from the 2024 squad which, like this time, had Ireland legend Briggs as head coach and back five forward Jane Neill as skipper. After losing to England and a disappointing defeat by hosts Italy, they finished on a high by thrashing Scotland 37-7.
Ireland Under 20s have Jane Neill and Niamh Briggs as captain and head coach again this year
Captain Neill and Barrett are joined in the forwards by Clenaghan’s hooker rival Beth Buttimer and her two fellow front rows, Grainne Burke and Lily Morris, with the other seven returners being backs.
That contingent includes Hannah Clarke, Robyn O’Connor and Lucia Linn who have been regulars in the Irish sevens squad for this past season’s World Series, along with Ellie O’Sullivan-Sexton, Jade Gaffney, Niamh Gallagher and May Goulding.
Full international Katie Corrigan and giant teenage lock Alma Atagamen are both part of Scott Bemand’s Ireland senior squad presently preparing for next month’s World Cup, while Neill has also been in camp despite not being named initially.
Uncapped pair Barrett and Caitriona Finn were included in the Ireland squad for last autumn’s WXV1 tournament in Vancouver, while both of them along with Corrigan, Atagamen and Buttimer were part of Bemand’s training group for this spring’s Six Nations.
Ireland Under 20s faced their Canadian counterparts in two warm-up matches at Abbotstown in May, losing the first 26-15 but bouncing back with an impressive 32-14 victory in the second encounter, helped by a hat-trick of tries from Atagamen.
Two notable players who featured against Canada but aren’t included in this Summer Series squad are fit-again full international hooker Sarah Delaney, who has made Bemand’s World Cup preparation panel, and Amy Larn, who was in the wider Six Nations squad.
After featuring for the Irish sevens side in last month’s two Rugby Europe Championship tournaments, outside back Larn has been brought in as a training partner by Bemand for the second camp ahead of the World Cup.
Ireland are very well stocked with young hookers as, even in Delaney’s absence, there is no place for her Leinster deputy Kelly Burke, who was also Clenaghan’s Wolfhounds understudy throughout this past season’s Celtic Challenge.
Along with captain Claire Boles, from Fermanagh, Armagh native Clenaghan was one of only two players to start all 10 matches for Wolfhounds as they retained their Celtic Challenge crown, having been number two to Delany the previous season.
There are six Wolfhounds in this squad of 35, with Clenaghan, Atagamen, winger Corrigan and Old Belvedere halfbacks Gaffney and O’Sullivan-Sexton being joined by back five forward Poppy Garvey.
Neill, Barrett, Finn and Buttimer head a contingent of 11 from Celtic Challenge runners-up Clovers which also includes Grainne Burke, Hannah Clarke, Jemima Adams-Verling, Beibhinn Gleeson, Aoibhe O’Flynn, Ella Burns and Saoirse Crowe.
Many of this Ireland Under 20s squad also featured for their respective provinces in last August’s Vodafone Championship, including the Ulster trio of Clenaghan, Barrett and young Cooke centre Tara O’Neill.
Next month’s interpros will be Clenaghan’s third campaign in the Ulster senior set-up, with the highlight being the victory over Connacht in the third place play-off the season before last, which ended a winless run of more than a decade for the northern province.
Clenaghan, whose family moved to the north west while she was still at primary school, has shown herself perfectly capable of playing flanker for Ulster as well as hooker, while Barrett made her debut in the back row before converting to tight-head prop.
Incidentally, that duo along with Donegal girl Sadhbh McGrath, capped by Ireland aged just 18, and Jorga Battishill – who has since played for England Under 20s – were the Ulster quartet in that first-ever Ireland Under 18s squad.
The hungry and dedicated Clenaghan has emerged at a time of great opportunity for promising female players compared to another local young Ulster star from Armagh who came along just a few years earlier, the multi-talented Leah McGoldrick.
McGoldrick was the best teenage outside centre in Ireland around the time of the 2017 World Cup but her expected progression to senior international rugby was cruelly ended by injury so, with no Irish age group teams in her era, she never got to pull on a green jersey.
Thankfully Clenaghan has already had the chance to do so, but naturally harbours ambitions to play for her country at adult level even though there will be fierce competition in her primary position for the foreseeable future.
Ulsterwoman Neve Jones and the hugely experienced campaigner Cliodhna Moloney are the formidable incumbents in the Ireland senior squad, with loose forward Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird able to provide cover.
New Ulster skipper India Daley and international openside flanker Maeve Og O’Leary from Munster were both converted to hooker the season before last, Delaney and Buttimer have both spent time in the Irish squad and Clenaghan has had great exposure with Wolfhounds.
Beyond those eight, Kelly Burke is another useful prospect, Connacht have Lily Brady and Emily Gavin, Jess Keating was capped by Ireland on their 2022 tour to Japan and Lisa Callan is back with Leinster having been first choice in their interpro title win two years ago.
The first job for the combative Clenaghan will be to fight for her share of game-time this month with Munster firebrand Buttimer, whose mum is originally from Carrickfergus, and help Ireland come away from Wales with a couple of wins.
O’Connor, Corrigan and Hannah Clarke looks like a hugely exciting back three outside an accomplished centre combo of Finn and Linn with the Belvo halfback pairing of Gaffney and O’Sullivan-Sexton tipped to complete the first-choice line-up behind the scrum.
Fullback Robyn O’Connor is one of the hottest prospects in the Ireland U20 squad for the Summer Series
Grainne Burke and Barrett are the obvious starting props and whether Neill herself is utilised alongside Atagamen in the engineroom or in the back row may determine which of O’Flynn, Garvey, Adams-Verling and Gleeson misses out on a starting spot.
Grainne Moran will hope to push Gaffney for the No 9 jersey, with Goulding the other scrumhalf travelling, while Caoimhe McCormack who has had such an eye-catching season for Railway Union looks like a leading contender for one of the other bench berths.
Merisa Kiripati, whose older sister Ivana is one of two uncapped players in Ireland’s World Cup preparation squad along with Atagamen, appears a reasonable bet for the No 20 jersey with Morris and Burns the obvious back-up props though Briggs may mix and match a bit.
The tour party has no fewer than 17 backs, including Gallagher, Lyndsay Clarke, Hannah Scanlon, O’Neill, Emma Brogan, Emily Foley and Clara Dunne, with the other forwards being Carla Cloney, Rosie Searle, Aoife Corcoran and Sally Kelly.
Of the 26 players selected for that inaugural U18 Six Nations festival four years ago, the seven who have headed to Wales this week with the Under 20s are Neill, Barrett, Buttimer, Clenaghan, Corrigan, Gaffney and O’Connor.
Looking back at that squad, other names of interest include Alanna Fitzpatrick, who was at last summer’s Paris Olympics as an Irish sevens player, Clara Barrett who has been capped at senior international level, Delaney and Clenaghan’s Ulster team-mate Abby Moyles.
Two summers ago, that inaugural Ireland Under 20s squad, with current Wolfhounds supremo Neill Alcorn as head coach, travelled to Rome to play friendlies against Italy and Scotland in what was essentially a forerunner to this official Six Nations Summer Series.
Delaney and Clenaghan were the two hookers in a squad of 26, with the former among eight players who are now full internationals, a list which includes Niamh O’Dowd, Ruth Campbell, Leah Tarpey, Megan Collis, Emma Tilly, Kayla Waldron and Clara Barrett.
Katie Whelan, Kate Flannery, Ivana Kiripati and Daley have been around the Ireland senior squad, while Ellen Boylan has been playing World Series sevens in recent months. The only survivors for this trip to Wales are Neill, Sophie Barrett and Clenaghan.
In officially launching the 2025 Summer Series, Six Nations Rugby highlighted that 14 players from last year’s tournament went on to represent their respective countries in this spring’s senior Six Nations, including Ireland lock Campbell.
Interestingly, Ireland brought just 28 players to Parma compared with the 35 heading to Wales, with the five backs from last year not involved now being Chisom Ugwueru, Flannery, Boylan, Clara Barrett and Eabha Nic Dhonnacha.
The forwards from then absent this time round are Campbell, Ivana Kiripati, Faith Oviawe, Cliodhna Ni Chonchobair, Brianna Heylmann, Eadaoin Murtagh, Hannah Wilson, Roisin Maher, Kelly Burke, Amanda McQuade and Aoibheann Hahessy.
Like Delaney, Larn and Kelly Burke, Maher was among the 45 players who featured for the Under 20s in their warm-up matches against Canada but aren’t travelling to Wales, while Tilly was in the frame to be one of the over-age players but broke her ankle in the first clash.
Clenaghan finished her exams two days before the second of those training games and a busy summer ahead of the third year of her course will see the interpros start just 17 days after the final fixture for Ireland Under 20s.
Although Wolfhounds was her main focus from last December, Clenaghan – who is dual registered to play All Ireland League for Cooke – was an influential figure as Queen’s won the Ulster Cup final at Ravenhill straight after the Ireland-France Six Nations match in March.
She’s a busy young woman but the focused, competitive, impressive Maebh brings a great work ethic and pragmatic practicality to the task of juggling her intense sporting schedule and the demanding academic commitments which come with studying Medicine.
Sevens star Hannah Clarke will provide cutting edge for Ireland Under 20s at this tournament (©INPHO/Martin Seras Lima)
IRELAND UNDER 20s (squad)
(Forwards): Jemina Adams Verling (Creggs/Connacht), Alma Atagamen (Balbriggan/Leinster), Sophie Barrett (Enniskillen/Ulster), Grainne Burke (UL Bohs/Munster), Ella Burns (Galwegians/Connacht), Beth Buttimer (UL Bohs/Munster), Maebh Clenaghan (Queen’s/Ulster), Carla Cloney (Tullow/Leinster), Aoife Corcoran (Barnhall/Leinster), Saoirse Crowe (UL Bohs/Munster), Poppy Garvey (Railway Union/Connacht), Beibhinn Gleeson (Tuam Oughterard/Connacht), Sally Kelly (Ennis/Munster), Merisa Kiripati (Creggs/Connacht), Lily Morris (Ballincollig/Munster) Jane Neill (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Aoibhe O’Flynn (UL Bohs/Munster), Rosie Searle (Navan/Leinster).
(Backs): Emma Brogan (Barnhall/Leinster), Hannah Clarke (Galwegians/Connacht), Lyndsay Clarke (Ennis/Munster), Katie Corrigan (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Clara Dunne (Wicklow/Leinster), Caitriona Finn (UL Bohs/Munster), Emily Foley (Galwegians/Connacht), Jade Gaffney (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Niamh Gallagher (Saracens), May Goulding (Saracens), Lucia Linn (UL Bohs/Munster), Caoimhe McCormack (Railway Union/Leinster), Grainne Moran (Galwegians/Connacht), Robyn O’Connor (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Tara O’Neill (Cooke/Ulster), Ellie O’Sullivan-Sexton (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Hannah Scanlon (Railway Union/Leinster)
Ulster reps in Ireland’s first U18 squad (from left) Maebh Clenaghan, Sophie Barrett, Jorga Battishill, Sadhbh McGrath
Maebh Clenaghan, pictured with mum Lara, started all 10 matches for Celtic Challenge winners Wolfhounds
