The Ireland Women's squad open their Six Nations campaign against 2018 champions France in Le Mans ©INPHO/Ben Brady
Having ended 2023 as WXV3 champions, the Ireland Women (sponsored by Aon) begin their first Guinness Women’s Six Nations Championship under Scott Bemand in France with a real test of their recent progress.
Saturday, March 23 –
FRANCE WOMEN v IRELAND WOMEN, Stade Marie-Marvingt, Le Mans, 3.15pm local time/2.15pm Irish time (live RTÉ 2/RTÉ Player/BBC Red Button/BBC iPlayer/France 2/RTÉ Radio 1)
Team News: Edel McMahon will captain Ireland from the back row in Le Mans, as co-captain Sam Monaghan is continuing her return-to-play protocols. There is one uncapped player in Bemand’s matchday squad.
18-year-old Leinster winger Katie Corrigan is selected on the right wing for her first cap having impressed the Ireland coaches during the recent Celtic Challenge competition when she scored 12 tries in five games.
Newcomer Corrigan is joined in the back-three by Lauren Delany, and Béibhinn Parsons who, like Eve Higgins and Aoibheann Reilly, is back on 15s duty after helping the Ireland Sevens team win their first ever HSBC SVNS Series title in Perth recently.
Nicole Fowley starts at half-back alongside Reilly, marking her return to the Championship for the first time since 2019. The Connacht playmaker made her international comeback in October against Kazakhstan in the WXV3 opener.
Higgins and Aoife Dalton pair up together in midfield, with Molly Scuffil-McCabe, Dannah O’Brien, who has worked her way back from an ankle injury, and Méabh Deely providing the back-line reinforcements on the bench.
Monaghan’s absence prompts the only change to the tight five from the WXV3 decider against Spain. Hannah O’Connor, who impressed for the title-winning Wolfhounds in the Celtic Challenge, joins forces with Dorothy Wall in the second row.
The 32-times capped Linda Djougang packs down with Neve Jones and Christy Haney in the front row. Ballygarrett native Aoife Wafer (20) makes her first Six Nations start in a loose forward trio with McMahon and Ulster’s Brittany Hogan, at number 8.
Sarah Delaney, Niamh O’Dowd, Sadhbh McGrath, Fiona Tuite, and Grace Moore give Bemand strong forward options from the bench. Delaney and Tuite are set to make their Six Nations bows, with O’Dowd and McGrath having debuted at this stage of last year’s tournament.
Commenting on the team selection, head coach Bemand said: “We are all very excited to get our Guinness Women’s Six Nations campaign under way, and we come into this weekend ready to put a confident performance out there.
“We have had a good block of preparation with players returning, and we are ready to compete. I’m looking forward to seeing all the hard work come together on Saturday, and what a place to kick start our Six Nations, in Stade Marie-Marvingt.”
The Ireland Women face Italy, Wales, and Scotland at home this year, with the matches set for the RDS, Virgin Media Park, and Kingspan Stadium – tickets are on sale now.
Meanwhile, France’s joint-head coaches Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz have Blagnac youngster Lina Queyroi continuing at out-half, where she played during the WXV1 tournament, as Caroline Drouin misses the Six Nations due to a knee injury.
Like Corrigan, Toulouse’s Kelly Arbey wins her first international cap on the wing and is one of three teenagers in les Bleues’ matchday 23. The 19-year-old Lina Tuy is standing by to make her debut as their replacement out-half.
Captained by Futuna Islands-born lock Manaé Feleu, France do have experience in key positions, with the ever-alert Pauline Bourdon Sansus at scrum half, former skipper Gaëlle Hermet at openside flanker, and Romane Ménager and Madoussou Fall both returning to the pack.
France won 53-3 when they played Ireland in Cork last April. They scored nine tries that day, including braces from Bourdon Sansus and centre Gabrielle Vernier, despite losing prop Annaëlle Deshayes to a first half red card.
Guinness Women’s Six Nations Fixtures
Guinness Women’s Six Nations Table
FRANCE WOMEN: Émilie Boulard (FFR/Blagnac RF); Kelly Arbey (AOL/Stade Toulousain), Nassira Konde (FFR/Stade Bordelais), Gabrielle Vernier (FFR/Blagnac RF), Marine Menager (FFR/Montpellier HR); Lina Queyroi (FFR/Blagnac RF), Pauline Bourdon Sansus (FFR/Stade Toulousain); Annaëlle Deshayes (FFR/Stade Bordelais), Agathe Sochat (FFR/Stade Bordelais), Assia Khalfaoui (FFR/Stade Bordelais), Manae Feleu (FFR/FC Grenoble Amazones) (capt), Madoussou Fall (FFR/Stade Bordelais), Charlotte Escudero (FFR/Stade Toulousain), Gaëlle Hermet (FFR/Stade Toulousain), Romane Menager (FFR/Montpellier HR).
Replacements: Elisa Riffonneau (Ealing Trailfinders), Ambre Mwayembe (AOL/FC Grenoble Amazones), Clara Joyeux (FFR/Blagnac RF), Kiara Zago (AOL/Stade Toulousain), Emeline Gros (FFR/FC Grenoble Amazones), Alexandra Chambon (FFR/FC Grenoble Amazones), Lina Tuy (AOL/ASM Romagnat), Morgane Bourgeois (FFR/Stade Bordelais).
IRELAND WOMEN: Lauren Delany (Sale Sharks/IQ Rugby); Katie Corrigan (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Eve Higgins (Railway Union/Leinster), Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College/Connacht); Nicole Fowley (Galwegians/Connacht), Aoibheann Reilly (Blackrock College/Connacht); Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury), Christy Haney Blackrock College/Leinster), Dorothy Wall (Blackrock College/Munster), Hannah O’Connor (Blackrock College/Leinster), Aoife Wafer (Blackrock College/Leinster), Edel McMahon (Exeter Chiefs) (capt), Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere/Ulster).
Replacements: Sarah Delaney (Blackrock College/Leinster), Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Sadhbh McGrath (Cooke/Ulster), Fiona Tuite (Old Belvedere/Ulster), Grace Moore (Saracens/IQ Rugby), Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Leinster), Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Méabh Deely (Blackrock College/Connacht).
Referee: Kat Roche (USA)
Assistant Referees: Maria Latos (Germany), Adele Robert (Belgium)
Television Match Official: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
The game is live on RTÉ 2 in the Republic of Ireland, while viewers in Northern Ireland/the UK can watch it live on the BBC Red Button and BBC iPlayer.
Pre-Match Quotes – Edel McMahon (Ireland Women): “I genuinely think people are excited to go after France. I don’t think those past results are a reflection on what we’re feeling as a group going forward and what we’re excited to chase after. So no, there isn’t (fear).
“From my own personal mindset, I’m really excited to get going. It’s a new squad, a new coaching set-up, new training identity and off the back of a positive tournament in Dubai for us. We’re excited to get going.”
Pauline Bourdon Sansus (France Women): “We can see that Women’s rugby is developing everywhere so we need to start the tournament well.
“Ireland won WXV3, so they are improving. We expect them to be very aggressive. We play a lot so teams know they need to put us under pressure to make things hard for us.”
Opta Facts – France Women v Ireland Women:
– France have won eight of their last nine Guinness Women’s Six Nations matches against Ireland. A 13-10 home victory for the girls in green in 2017 is the only exception during this run
– France have won all ten of their home games against Ireland in the Women’s Six Nations, scoring 82 points and conceding just 11 in the last three such clashes
– Since Italy joined the Women’s Six Nations in 2007, France have won 35 of their 40 home games in the Championship, with England (5 wins) the only team to beat them
– Ireland’s Neve Jones completed the most tackles of any player during the 2023 Women’s Six Nations (90). She missed just two of her 92 tackle attempts with her 98% success rate the highest among all 42 players to attempt 50+ tackles
Recent Meetings –
2021: Women’s Six Nations: Ireland Women 15 France Women 56, Energia Park
2022: TikTok Women’s Six Nations: France Women 40 Ireland Women 5, Stade Ernest Wallon, Toulouse
2023: TikTok Women’s Six Nations: Ireland Women 3 France Women 53, Musgrave Park
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