Connacht full-back Méabh Deely is challenged by her opposite number, Ulster's Lauren Farrell McCabe, during the sides' second round clash at Kingspan Stadium ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
Connacht and Ulster could not be separated the last time they met, just two weeks ago at Kingspan Stadium, so this rematch is sure to be even more hard fought with third place in the Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship up for grabs.
Saturday, August 31 –
CONNACHT (3rd) v ULSTER (4th), Kingspan Stadium, kick-off 2pm (live on TG4/BBC iPlayer/BBC Sport website)
2024/25 Interprovincial Championship Top Scorers: Connacht – Points: Faith Oviawe 20; Tries: Faith Oviawe 4; Ulster – Points: Brittany Hogan 15; Tries: Brittany Hogan 3
Recent Interprovincial Form: Connacht: WLLDL; Ulster: LWLDL
Last Five Meetings: 2021: Connacht 12 Ulster 12, Energia Park; 2023: Ulster 19 Connacht 25, Kingspan Stadium; Connacht 29 Ulster 24, the Sportsground; 3rd-4th Place Play-Off: Connacht 14 Ulster 36, Musgrave Park; 2024: Ulster 25 Connacht 25, Kingspan Stadium
Players To Watch Out For: Connacht: Hannah Clarke – The Tuam/Oughterard flyer has certainly made an impression on this season’s Championship. She deputised for Clara Barrett in that 25-all draw with Ulster, and set up a Méabh Deely try. The 19-year-old’s elusive running and eye for a gap have earned her a call-up to Ireland camp as a training panellist.
Ulster: Brenda Barr – A real unsung hero in the Ulster pack, Barr gets through a lot of unseen work and has really stepped up to the plate in the injury-enforced absence of Ireland international Fiona Tuite. The Suttonians lock brings plenty of physicality to her set-piece and defensive work, even getting in a charge-down last week.
Pre-Match Views: Paige Smyth (Ulster back) – “It took me a while to get used to, but with the support of the girls around me, I got the hang of it quickly. It was the right time for me to set a new goal and give something else a try.
“(The GAA skills) are definitely transferable so I wouldn’t let it put anyone off making the transition from Gaelic football to rugby. It’s easily learnt.
“Being part of this set-up and atmosphere is amazing. The drive, the buzz, the atmosphere within this Ulster team, I think it’s the start of something great in the years to come.
“It’s a short series, we have 15 new caps, and these girls are only just getting to know each other. As we evolve and and get to know how each other play, and constantly get better, this weekend is a time to show those strengths that we have put in place.”
Edel McMahon (Connacht flanker) – “I had obviously been speaking to the girls over the summer when we were in the off-season, so when it actually came to fruition, I was so buzzing to just get on the pitch.
“I spoke to Emer (O’Dowd) about it, the girls are brilliant. It’s just that clarity piece that I maybe brought on (as a replacement last week), that it was more of a direction like, ‘okay, let’s go, we’re setting up in this pod, or this is what we’re going to do’.
“Just telling the girls what we’re looking at, what we’re going to do, and then they backed themselves. There’s plenty of talent there, it was just probably the extra piece of an extra voice in the pack, for sure, to help Nicole (Fowley) out.
“There’s huge talent there. I was galvanising off them as much as they were off me, so the tails were up when we got that first score, and we knew we could keep going. It was brilliant.”
Team News: The three Connacht players included in Ireland’s 35-player squad on Thursday, Edel McMahon, Méabh Deely, and co-captain Nicole Fowley, will all start their final match of the Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship campaign.
Having been influential during her second half cameo against Munster last week, Ireland co-captain McMahon comes into the back row. It will be her first Interprovincial start since she left to play her club rugby in England back in 2019.
In all, Connacht head coach O’Dowd has made three changes in personnel, also bringing Sarah Purcell, last year’s Under-18 Interprovincial title-winning captain, and talented winger Hannah Clarke into the starting XV.
Clarke and in-form forward Faith Oviawe, who shifts to the second row, are two of the training panellists who will be part of the Ireland camp ahead of their encounter with Australia in mid-September, and the WXV1 tournament in Canada.
Purcell’s inclusion in the Connacht line-up sees Éabha Nic Dhonnacha swap out for a bench role, with Orla Fenton and Emily Foley, a dual Ireland U-18 international from Ballina, called up to the matchday 23 for tomorrow’s play-off.
Speaking ahead of the game, Connacht head coach O’Dowd said: “We’ve gone very close to getting a win on two occasions. We came within four (points against Munster) last Saturday, and we drew up in Ulster.
“Now I know Ulster are going to throw the kitchen sink at us, and it’s not going to be easy, especially on home turf for them. But we’re going to go up and really look to get a performance for 80 minutes, and that’s what we need.
“Our start hasn’t been great, it definitely wasn’t great against Munster. It was a bit better against Leinster. We can’t let them get momentum, and we can’t be chasing the game. We just need a start and we need to play for 80.”
Meanwhile, with Vicky Irwin ruled out for Ulster, Ireland Sevens international Lucinda Kinghan, a contracted player in the Women’s High Performance programme, makes up a new centre pairing with Blackrock College’s Catherine Martin.
Old Belvedere flyer Megan Edwards also comes in for her first start of the tournament, with captain Kathryn Dane’s absence covered by Rachel McIlroy, who has impressed as a replacement in recent weeks, most notably during Ulster’s fightback for a 25-all draw with Connacht.
Brittany Hogan, the Vodafone player-of-the-match in that first Connacht fixture, gets to lead her province for the Kingspan Stadium finale. The only alteration up front sees Blackrock prop Ava Fannin get the nod on the loosehead side.
Ulster are missing the firepower of Fiona Tuite up front, but two of their other forwards selected in the Ireland squad, Hogan and uncapped prop Sophie Barrett, will both feature in this battle for a third place finish.
Looking forward to a third successive run-out for his charges on home soil, Ulster boss Murray Houston commented: “Getting to play at home against Connacht is an opportunity to go out and put in a really good performance, but ultimately get that victory we’re looking for as well.
“Connacht have been very good throughout the competition. We have to be wary of how they played in the first half up here (in the second round), so it’s about getting that consistency.
“Getting that consistent message across, making defence the big emphasis of our training sessions, so all our roles and responsibilities are tied down.”
CONNACHT: Méabh Deely (Blackrock College RFC); Ava Ryder (Exeter Chiefs), Orla Dixon (Galwegians RFC), Sarah Purcell (Creggs RFC), Hannah Clarke (Tuam/Oughterard 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), Faith Oviawe (Railway Union RFC), Grace Browne Moran (Galwegians RFC), Béibhinn Gleeson (Tuam/Oughterard RFC), Edel McMahon (Exeter Chiefs), Shannon Touhey Tierney (Tullamore RFC) (co-capt).
Replacements: Stacy Hanley (Galwegians RFC), Ellen Connolly (Galwegians RFC), Roisín Maher (Galwegians RFC), Poppy Garvey (Sligo Rugby), Orla Fenton (Galwegians RFC), May Goulding (Saracens), Éabha Nic Dhonnacha (UL Bohemian RFC), Emily Foley (Ballina RFC).
ULSTER: Lauren Farrell McCabe (Suttonians RFC); Lucy Thompson (Enniskillen RFC), Catherine Martin (Blackrock College RFC), Lucinda Kinghan (Railway Union RFC), Megan Edwards (Old Belvedere RFC); Abby Moyles (Blackrock College RFC), Rachael McIlroy (Queen’s University Belfast RFC); Ava Fannin (Blackrock College RFC), India Daley (Enniskillen RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Sophie Barrett (Enniskillen RFC/Railway Union RFC), Brenda Barr (Suttonians RFC), Cara O’Kane (Cooke RFC), Moya Hill (Enniskillen RFC), Maebh Clenaghan (Queen’s University Belfast RFC), Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC) (capt).
Replacements: Christy Hill (Ballymena RFC), Bronach Cassidy (Queen’s University Belfast RFC), Megan Brodie (Blackrock College RFC), Ellen Patterson (Queen’s University Belfast RFC), Stacey Sloan (Cooke RFC), Paige Smyth (Ballynahinch RFC), Lauren Patterson (MU Barnhall RFC/Blackrock College RFC), Peita McAlister (Malone RFC).
Referee: Tomas O’Sullivan (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Mitchell, Ross Whitfield (both IRFU)
Television Match Official: Colin Stanley (IRFU)
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