ULSTER’S Brittany Hogan has kept her place as Ireland head coach Scott Bemand announced the Ireland Match Day Squad, sponsored by Aon, for Saturday’s final round Guinness Women’s Six Nations clash against Scotland at Kingspan Stadium (Kick-off 2.30pm).
Following last weel’s heavy defeat by England at Twickenham, Bemand has made three changes to the starting XV for the visit of Scotland to Belfast, as co-captain Sam Monaghan returns to the second row, Enya Breen is named at centre, and Méabh Deely starts at fullback.
Uncapped back Katie Heffernan is in line to earn her first Ireland Test cap as she is named among the replacements. Heffernan, who impressed for the Wolfhounds in the Celtic Challenge, has been an ever-present for the Ireland Women’s Sevens on the HSBC SVNS Series in recent years.
Following the record attendance at the RDS and Cork, with over 6,600 tickets already sold another large crowd is expected in Belfast. Tickets are on sale from ticketmaster.ie.
The starting front row remains the same with Linda Djougang, Neve Jones and Christy Haney packing down. Dorothy Wall partners Monaghan in the engine room, with Aoife Wafer at blindslide flanker, co-captain Edel McMahon at openside and Brittany Hogan at number eight.
Aoibheann Reilly and Dannah O’Brien once again make up the half-back pairing. Breen joins Eve Higgins in the Ireland midfield and Deely comes into the back three alongside wingers Béibhinn Parsons and Katie Corrigan.
Clíodhna Moloney, Niamh O’Dowd, Sadhbh McGrath, Fiona Tuite and Shannon Ikahihifo provide the replacements up front, with Aoife Dalton, Molly Scuffil-McCabe and the uncapped Heffernan completing the Match Day 23.
Commenting on the selection, the Ireland head coach said: “Last week was tough but we’ve seen great bounce back in training.”
“This weekend, the Six Nations reaches its climax and with some good performances, we’re in a position to compete for that World Cup qualification.”
“We’re excited to bring Scotland to Belfast and a quality Kingspan Stadium. It’ll be a large and enthusiastic crowd. We’re looking forward to them revving up the atmosphere to really drive the home advantage.”
“With lots of permutations possible, we’ll focus on bringing the ‘best of us’ to go after that winning performance.”
Saturday’s match is live on RTE with live updates on our twitter and instagram channels – @irishrugby
Ireland Team (v Scotland Saturday, April 27, Kingspan Stadium, kick off 2.30pm)
15. Méabh Deely (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht) 12
14. Katie Corrigan (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) 4
13. Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC) 16
12. Enya Breen (Blackrock College RFC/Munster) 19
11. Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht) 25
10. Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) 14
9. Aoibheann Reilly (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht) 11
1. Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) 36
2. Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury) 25
3. Christy Haney (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster) 17
4. Dorothy Wall (Blackrock College RFC/Munster) 27
5. Sam Monaghan (Gloucester-Hartpury) Co-Captain 20
6. Aoife Wafer (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster) 6
7. Edel McMahon (Exeter Chiefs) Co-Captain 27
8. Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster) 22
Replacements:
16. Clíodhna Moloney (Exeter Chiefs) 33
17. Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) 6
18. Sadhbh McGrath (Cooke RFC/Ulster) 12
19. Fiona Tuite (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster) 6
20. Shannon Ikahihifo (Ealing Trailfinders/IQ Rugby) 2
21. Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Leinster) 16
22. Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) 14
23. Katie Heffernan (Railway Union RFC/Leinster) *
* Denotes uncapped player
