THE Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) has named a 36-player Ireland Women’s preparation squad ahead of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 in England later this summer.
The squad is comprised of 20 forwards and 16 backs and is for the initial phase of the summer training block.
There are two uncapped players included in the squad as forwards Alma Atagamen and Ivana Kiripati are named by Head Coach Scott Bemand.
After making impressive debuts in the last Guinness Women’s Six Nations game against Scotland, Jane Clohessy and AoifeCorey have been rewarded with a call up into the preparation squad.
Sarah Delaney, Shannon Ikahihifo, Sam Monaghan and Béibhinn Parsons make their return to the squad after missing both the WXV1 and Six Nations campaigns through injury.
The Ireland Coaching Team is led by Head Coach Bemand, who is assisted by Denis Fogarty (Scrum Coach), Alex Codling (Forwards Coach), Gareth Steenson (Kicking Coach) and James Scaysbrook who joins as Defence Coach.
Scaysbrook, a former Bath and Exeter Chiefs flanker, transitioned into coaching after his playing career. He coached in Hong Kong and Japan before taking up a position as an England U20s Defence Coach. Since 2020 he has been with Coventry RFC and now joins the Ireland Women’s Coaching Team.
Making his announcement: Bemand said: “We’re excited to come back together as a group refreshed, recharged, and ready to build towards what promises to be a huge few months. The competition for places in the final World Cup squad will be fierce, and I know the players will embrace that challenge.
“There’s great continuity within the squad, with many of the group having come through WXV1 last September, but we’ve also brought in some young talent who are hungry to make their mark.
“Now it’s about putting in the hard work. We’ve got a valuable block of time ahead to prepare, and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to test ourselves in front of home support in Cork and Belfast this August.”
Additional players may be added in the coming weeks. The team will assemble at the IRFU High Performance Centre from Monday, 2 June and will undertake a series of camps before two home warm up games against Scotland and Canada in early August.
Ireland Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Preparation Squad:
Club/Province/Caps
Forwards (20)
Alma Atagamen (Balbriggan RFC)*
Aoife Wafer (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster)(15)
Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster)(32)
Christy Haney (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster)(24)
Clíodhna Moloney (Exeter Chiefs)(43)
Deirbhile Nic a Bháird (Old Belvedere RFC/Munster)(11)
Edel McMahon (Exeter Chiefs/Connacht)(34)
Fiona Tuite (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster)(15)
Grace Moore (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby)(20)
Ivana Kiripati (Creggs RFC/Connacht)*
Jane Clohessy (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)(1)
Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(46)
Neve Jones (Gloucester Hartpury)(35)
Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(15)
Ruth Campbell (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(7)
Sadhbh McGrath (Cooke RFC/Ulster)(14)
Sam Monaghan (Gloucester Hartpury/IQ Rugby)(21)
Sarah Delaney (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster)(3)
Shannon Ikahihifo (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby)(3)
Siobhán McCarthy (Railway Union RFC/Munster)(8)
Backs (16)
Amee-Leigh Costigan (Railway Union RFC/Munster)(18)
Anna McGann (Railway Union RFC)(10)
Aoibheann Reilly (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht)(15)
Aoife Corey (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)(1)
Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(23)
Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht)(26)
Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(24)
Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC/Munster)(15)
Enya Breen (Blackrock College RFC/Munster)(29)
Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC)(26)
Katie Corrigan (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(5)
Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Manawatū RFC/Leinster)(21)
Nicole Fowley (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)(15)
Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC)(19)
Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow RFC)(4)
Training Panellist:
Méabh Deely (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht)(13)
*denotes uncapped
