Munster scrum half Muirne is pictured in action against Connacht during last season's Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship ©INPHO/Ken Sutton
A Dexcom Stadium that is currently being redeveloped is the venue for the third round’s opening match, as unbeaten Munster are hosted by a Connacht team striving for their first Vodafone Interprovincial Championship win in exactly twelve months.
Saturday, August 24 –
CONNACHT (4th) v MUNSTER (1st), Dexcom Stadium, kick-off 2.30pm (live on TG4)
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2024/25 Interprovincial Championship Top Scorers: Connacht – Points: Méabh Deely, Faith Oviawe 15 each; Tries: Faith Oviawe 3; Munster – Points: Alana McInerney 20; Tries: Alana McInerney 4
Recent Interprovincial Form: Connacht: LWLLD; Munster: WLLWW
Last Five Meetings: 2019: Connacht 6 Munster 27, the Sportsground; Semi-Final: Munster 17 Connacht 20, Templeville Road; 2021: Munster 31 Connacht 7, Musgrave Park; 2023: Connacht 24 Munster 50, the Sportsground; Munster 46 Connacht 7, Musgrave Park
Players To Watch Out For: Connacht: Ava Ryder – The big news in the Connacht camp is Edel McMahon’s return to Interprovincial action for the first time in five years. But versatile 22-year-old back Ryder will be equally champing at the bit, especially getting back out on the all-weather surface where she scored two tries in a player-of-the-match performance against Ulster last year.
Munster: Siobhan McCarthy – McCarthy’s move to prop seems to be working out well, putting in 56 and 69-minute shifts against Ulster and Leinster respectively. The tough-tackling Clooney woman uses her physicality in make an impression in the loose as well, and has helped Munster’s set-piece work look sharp in both defence and attack.
Pre-Match Views: Doron McHugh (Connacht scrum coach) – “The girls are in great form. They’ve come in to training this week with a great attitude after being disappointed with the draw in Belfast. I’m not going to lie, we left the win behind us, so we did.
“We kind of switched off a little bit, and Ulster had a good purple patch. Disappointed with the result in the end, but we move on and we had some great positives from the game. I thought our set-piece was amazing, especially the likes of Ella Burns coming in at 18 years of age.
“Maybe our discipline needs to improve towards the later half of the match. When they start to get tired it’s really about concentrating, and going about our basics, and then not being afraid to show some flash.
“Getting the ball moving, get offloads, really show Munster that we’re here to play rugby, and that they’re coming to the Dexcom and it’s not going to be an easy day for them. The girls are really excited to get out and play in front of their friends and families, and to put on a show.”
Alana McInerney (Munster winger) – “Connacht, we probably know them inside out having played with a lot of them with the Clovers last season. They have loads of players coming through, they’re a good quality side.
“Let’s not forget that they beat Leinster last year, and we couldn’t beat Leinster last year and they did. I know they haven’t had a win this season, and they’ll be gunning to win against us in their only home game, so we’re really up for the game this weekend.
“I suppose I’ve just been in really good positions (to score tries this season). Even the three scores against Ulster, I said to Chisom (Ugwueru), who was on the other wing, that she was probably gutted she wasn’t on this side!
“But I put (my current form) down to the training and the NTS (National Talent Squad) programme with Munster in UL. I’m getting really good training in, under Niamh Briggs and (athletic performance coach) Lorna Barry, and I’m really enjoying the rugby at the moment.
“Traditionally, as a winger, I wouldn’t be the fastest, but I think my speed has definitely improved over the past year, which comes down to the NTS and the extra training, the gym, the skills, and the speed work.”
Preview: Munster have won their last three Interprovincial encounters with Connacht, including the January 2023 title-clinching victory at the Sportsground where prop Éilis Cahill scored two of their eight tries in a 50-24 success.
The teams’ recent history does feature a lone Connacht triumph, at the semi-final stage back in September 2019. Current dual international star Béibhinn Parsons ran in a hat-trick of tries as the westerners prevailed 20-17.
There are some survivors in tomorrow’s matchday squad – McMahon, Méabh Deely, Shannon Touhey Tierney, Lily Brady, Nicole Fowley, and Orla Dixon – with Touhey Tierney and Fowley now the province’s two co-captains.
Number 8 Touhey Tierney (pictured below) spoke about how the Connacht players are honouring their home clubs this weekend, saying: “We’re really excited to play at home, especially this weekend as we have a theme of ‘State of Origin’.
“So we have our mascots represtenting our clubs, we’ll be wearing our club socks, and we’re excited because our home club is where we learned the basics that we built on in our provinces.
“Really excited to represent our clubs and excited to get out there, build on what we’ve learned over the last two weeks and hopefully get the win at home.”
With two bonus point wins in the bag, Fiona Hayes’ impressive Munster outfit have already qualified for next Saturday’s Championship final at Kingspan Stadium.
Maintaining that winning momentum while building more squad depth, and getting returning duo Nicole Cronin and Eimear Considine back out on the pitch, are top of the agenda for the Reds’ final round robin match.
Team News: Connacht return home for their only outing of the campaign at Dexcom Stadium, frustrated not to get the win away to Ulster but buoyed by their four-try performance across the opening hour in Belfast.
Vice-captain Ava Ryder is their only change to the starting line-up, slotting in on the right wing. Clara Barrett remains sidelined having missed the Ulster match, with Hannah Clarke, who had an impressive debut last week, held in reserve this time.
The presence of the vastly-experienced McMahon among the replacements gives Emer O’Dowd’s charges a timely lift, as her young side aim for a strong finish to the round robin phase of the competition.
Along with Ellen Connolly and Poppy Garvey, Sarah Purcell from Creggs has also been added to Connacht’s bench. Highly-rated teenager Purcell is poised to make her senior debut for the province, just six months after captaining their Under-18s to Interprovincial glory.
With construction of the High Performance Centre and the North Stand currently ongoing at Dexcom Stadium, only the South Stand is open for supporters tomorrow. The Enclosure is reserved for wheelchair users only, and the End Terraces will not be open.
Meanwhile, centre Lucia Linn, who only turned 19 last month, is brought in by Munster head coach Hayes as the one and only alteration to the team that overcame Leinster 32-21 to make it two bonus point wins out of two.
A member of the Ireland Under-20 squad that took part in the recent Six Nations Women’s Summer Series, Linn was one of six new caps introduced against Ulster, and she caught the eye with a fine cameo against Leinster last week.
She managed to pinch possession away from Linda Djougang just as Leinster were pressing for a late try. Leading a break downfield, Linn’s efforts laid the foundations for Munster’s clinching score which was claimed by Alana McInerney, the Interpros’ top try scorer with four so far.
Enya Breen, the Vodafone player-of-the-match in the Leinster game, came off with a knock, so Linn takes her place in midfield with UL Bohemian regular Stephanie Nunan switching to the inside centre position.
With the Reds fielding an unchanged pack, which includes McMahon’s new Exeter Chiefs team-mate, Dorothy Wall, there are some fascinating individual battles to look forward to up front.
UL Bohs team-mates, Beth Buttimer and Lily Brady, will go head-to-head at hooker, and Faith Oviawe and Jane Clohessy (pictured above), who played together for the Clovers during last season’s Celtic Challenge, will be on a collision course in the loose forwards.
Hayes also welcomes back Cronin and Considine, two players with huge amounts of experience as Ireland 15s and Sevens internationals. They both last featured for Munster in last September’s final defeat to Leinster in Cork.
Considine, who was due to start the first round win over Ulster, makes her return from an ACL injury, and Cronin will cover the scrum half position having also played for her province and country at out-half.
“Connacht at home are a force to be reckoned with,” said Hayes, ahead of the journey up to Galway. “I’ve watched Connacht in the last few years and they’re just getting better and better.
“Even down in UL Bohs, we’ve been lucky enough to have four or five Connacht players play with us in the AIL, and the standard is high quality. Particularly up front, Connacht are very physical, really good runners.
“I find the battle up front against Connacht over the years – scrum time, maul time, and even trying to get over the gain-line with the forwards is always huge – if you can win that, I think it sets you on the road to going after them.”
CONNACHT: Méabh Deely (Blackrock College RFC); Ava Ryder (Exeter Chiefs), Orla Dixon (Galwegians RFC), Éabha Nic Dhonnacha (UL Bohemian RFC), Laoise McGonagle (UL Bohemian RFC); Nicole Fowley (Galwegians RFC) (co-capt), Gráinne Moran (Ballina RFC); Ella Burns (Tuam/Oughterard RFC), Lily Brady (UL Bohemian RFC), Megan Collis (Railway Union RFC), Karly Tierney (Tuam/Oughterard RFC), Grace Browne Moran (Galwegians RFC), Faith Oviawe (Railway Union RFC), Béibhinn Gleeson (Tuam/Oughterard RFC), Shannon Touhey Tierney (Tullamore RFC) (co-capt).
Replacements: Stacy Hanley (Galwegians RFC), Ellen Connolly (Galwegians RFC), Roisín Maher (Galwegians RFC), Poppy Garvey (Sligo Rugby), Edel McMahon (Exeter Chiefs), May Goulding (Saracens), Sarah Purcell (Creggs RFC), Hannah Clarke (Tuam/Oughterard RFC/Galwegians RFC).
MUNSTER: Aoife Corey (UL Bohemian RFC); Chisom Ugwueru (UL Bohemian RFC), Lucia Linn (Loughborough Lightning), Stephanie Nunan (UL Bohemian RFC), Alana McInerney (UL Bohemian RFC); Kate Flannery (UL Bohemian RFC), Muirne Wall (UL Bohemian RFC); Siobhan McCarthy (Gloucester-Hartpury), Beth Buttimer (UL Bohemian RFC), Éilis Cahill (UL Bohemian RFC), Dorothy Wall (Exeter Chiefs), Claire Bennett (UL Bohemian RFC), Clodagh O’Halloran (UL Bohemian RFC), Jane Clohessy (UL Bohemian RFC), Chloe Pearse (UL Bohemian RFC) (capt).
Replacements: Emma Dunican (Tralee RFC), Ciara O’Dwyer (UL Bohemian RFC), Ciara McLoughlin (UL Bohemian RFC), Aoibhe O’Flynn (UL Bohemian RFC), Annakate Cournane (Shannon RFC), Nicole Cronin (UL Bohemian RFC), Caitriona Finn (UL Bohemian RFC), Eimear Considine (UL Bohemian RFC).
Referee: Cillian Hogan (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: David Andreu, Eoin Staunton (both IRFU)
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