A 12-strong Ireland Women’s Sevens Development squad has been confirmed for the Dubai 7s Invitational tournament by Director of and Women’s and Sevens Rugby, Anthony Eddy.
The squad combines players who have experience on the World Rugby Women’s Sevens World Series with younger talent that is progressing through the Ireland Women’s Sevens programme.
Niamh Byrne, Anna McGann, Kim Flood and Katie Heffernan all competed on the World Series last season, and their experience will be important for some of the younger players involved, as will the experience of Jeamie Deacon, who lined out at centre for Ireland during the Women’s Rugby World Cup in August.
Kathy Baker, Brittany Hogan, Emily Lane and Molly Scuffil-McCabe have all represented Ireland Sevens at Schools and Under-18 level over the last number of seasons, while Railway Union’s Daisy Earle has also progressed through the Sevens pathway.
Suttonians’ Nicole Carroll and Railway Union’s Juliet Short – two players who have impressed in the Women’s domestic leagues – complete the squad for Dubai.
The Ireland Development side are in a pool with invitational teams, Wrravens and Almaty RFC, and international side Belgium. Their game against Belgium will take place on the main pitch at the Dubai Sevens Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
On confirmation of the travelling squad, Anthony Eddy said: “The Dubai Sevens tournament provides us with the opportunity to bring a development side to compete against strong invitational and international sides.
“We have Belgium in our pool, but Wales and Poland have also entered teams, and there is also a Russian Development side competing, so it is a challenging competition.
“We have a blend of youth and experiences in the squad, and this tournament provides them all with an opportunity for some valuable game-time and tournament experience. We are looking for a really good team performance and, individually, this tournament provides all players with the opportunity to compete for selection in other World Series tournaments.”
For more information on the Dubai 7s tournaments, or to buy tickets, visit: www.dubairugby7s.com.
IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS Squad (Dubai 7s Invitational Tournament, The Sevens Stadium, Dubai, Thursday, November 30-Friday, December 1):
Kathy Baker (Blackrock/Leinster)
Niamh Byrne (Railway Union/Leinster)
Nicole Carroll (Suttonians/Leinster)
Jeamie Deacon (Blackrock/Leinster)
Daisy Earle (Railway Union/Leinster)
Kim Flood (Railway Union/Leinster)
Katie Heffernan (Mullingar/Railway Union/Leinster)
Brittany Hogan (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Emily Lane (Mallow/Munster)
Anna McGann (UCD/Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Garda/Westmanstown/St. Mary’s/Leinster)
Juliet Short (Railway Union/Leinster)
IRELAND WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT SEVENS FIXTURES – DUBAI 7s INVITATIONAL:
Thursday, November 30 –
Pool B:
Ireland Development v Wrravens, Pitch 4, 9am local time/5am Irish time
Ireland Development v Almaty RFC, Pitch 5, 12pm local time/8am Irish time
Belgium v Ireland Development, Sevens Stadium, 2.34pm local time/10.34am Irish time
Friday, December 1 –
Play-Offs
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