The Ireland matchday squad, led by captain Nichola Fryday, are pictured with IRFU President John Robinson at Musgrave Park ©INPHO/Ben Brady
With the world’s number one ranked team in town, the Ireland Women are relishing the chance to test themselves against England’s Red Roses who are chasing their fourth successive Grand Slam.
Saturday, April 22 –
IRELAND WOMEN (5th) v ENGLAND WOMEN (1st), Musgrave Park, 2.15pm (live RTÉ 2/BBC Two/BBC iPlayer/RTÉ Radio 1)
Team News: Ireland head coach Greg McWilliams has made three changes for this penultimate round clash, with Vicky Irwin and Molly Scuffil-McCabe coming into the back-line and Brittany Hogan replacing the injured Dorothy Wall in the back row.
Lauren Delany, Aoife Doyle and Natasja Behan are retained in an unchanged back-three, Sale Sharks regular Irwin joins Aoife Dalton in midfield, and Scuffil-McCabe partners Dannah O’Brien at half-back.
Backing up for the visit of the Rugby World Cup runners-up, Linda Djougang, Neve Jones and Christy Haney combine again in the front row. Captain Nichola Fryday and Sam Monaghan complete the tight five.
Hogan comes in at blindside flanker, while Grace Moore, another of the squad’s English-based players, continues at openside and Deirbhile Nic a Bháird packing down again at number 8.
On the replacements bench, Clara Nielson, Sadhbh McGrath, Kathryn Buggy, Hannah O’Connor and Jo Brown provide the reinforcements up front. The fit-again Nicole Cronin, Anna McGann and Méabh Deely complete the matchday 23.
Commenting ahead of the game, McWilliams said: “We are under no illusions of the size of the task ahead of us with a world-class England team coming to Cork, but this is a test we will embrace and relish.
We are aiming to get better week-on-week and the squad remain focused on our process, preparation and attitude.
“This journey will involve many twists and turns, but as a group of players and management, we have confidence in each other and in the collective belief that we are on a path of progression.
“We are excited to be back at Musgrave Park in front of our supporters, and their backing at this stage of our development as a team is hugely valued.”
Meanwhile, 60-times capped Gloucester-Hartpury scrum half Natasha Hunt is one of seven changes made by England head coach Simon Middleton for their trip to Cork.
The fit-again Hunt makes her first appearance of the 2023 Six Nations, combining at half-back with Holly Aitchison, who impressed with her distribution during their runaway 59-3 victory over Wales.
Ellie Kildunne and Claudia MacDonald also come into the back-line, while two of the try scorers in Cardiff, Hannah Botterman and Maud Muir, are promoted from the bench to join Connie Powell in a freshened-up front row.
Gloucester-Hartpury duo Zoe Aldcroft and Sarah Beckett will form the second row combination, coming up against a few of their club-mates in Jones, Monaghan and replacement prop Buggy.
Loughborough Lightning’s Morwenna Talling and Helena Rowland are set to feature for England for the first time in this year’s Championship. Joining them on the bench is Amber Reed who returns from injury.
TikTok Women’s Six Nations Results/Fixtures
TikTok Women’s Six Nations Table
IRELAND WOMEN: Lauren Delany (Sale Sharks/IQ Rugby); Aoife Doyle (Railway Union RFC/Munster), Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Vicky Irwin (Sale Sharks/Ulster), Natasja Behan (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster); Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Railway Union RFC/Leinster); Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury/Ulster), Christy Haney (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), Nichola Fryday (Exeter Chiefs/Connacht) (capt), Sam Monaghan (Gloucester-Hartpury/IQ Rugby), Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster), Grace Moore (Saracens/IQ Rugby), Deirbhile Nic a Bháird (Old Belvedere RFC/Munster).
Replacements: Clara Nielson (Exeter Chiefs/IQ Rugby), Sadhbh McGrath (City of Derry RFC/Cooke RFC/Ulster), Kathryn Buggy (Gloucester-Hartpury/IQ Rugby), Hannah O’Connor (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), Jo Brown (Worcester Warriors/IQ Rugby), Nicole Cronin (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Anna McGann (Railway Union RFC/Connacht), Méabh Deely (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht).
ENGLAND WOMEN: Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins); Abby Dow (Harlequins), Lagi Tuima (Harlequins), Tatyana Heard (Gloucester-Hartpury), Claudia MacDonald (Exeter Chiefs); Holly Aitchison (Saracens), Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury); Hannah Botterman (Saracens), Connie Powell (Gloucester-Hartpury), Maud Muir (Gloucester-Hartpury), Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury), Sarah Beckett (Gloucester-Hartpury), Sadia Kabeya (Loughborough Lightning), Marlie Packer (Saracens) (capt), Alex Matthews (Gloucester-Hartpury).
Replacements: Lark Davies (Bristol Bears), Mackenzie Carson (Saracens), Sarah Bern (Bristol Bears), Delaney Burns (Bristol Bears), Morwenna Talling (Loughborough Lightning), Lucy Packer (Harlequins), Amber Reed (Bristol Bears), Helena Rowland (Loughborough Lightning).
Referee: Lauren Jenner (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Beatrice Benvenuti, Maria Pacifico (both Italy)
Television Match Official: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
The game is live on RTÉ 2 in the Republic of Ireland, while viewers in Northern Ireland/the UK can watch it live on BBC Two and the BBC iPlayer.
Pre-Match Quotes – Sam Monaghan (Ireland Women): “It has been hard because we have such little time together whereas other nations have had more. All of the other teams in the Six Nations have had five months together and have been able to kick on. We are improving each game.
“I would be sitting here holding my hands up if I thought we were going backwards, but from the Wales game, we are going forward. It’s about taking the small wins. Keep going forward and bring the inexperienced players up with you.
“Against Italy, our scrum went quite well. We got that penalty try. It’s definitely kicked on from last year. A big focus for us this week is our execution and set piece, especially our lineout.
“Getting after England’s breakdown, trying to slow down their ruck speed. If we are able to slow that down and give time for our defence to get set, and then bring line speed, we can put them under a bit more pressure.”
Simon Middleton (England Women): “We were really pleased with the win in Wales in what was a difficult game. Our defence was outstanding. We go into this game knowing there are areas we need to improve on and we are determined to do that.
“We are pleased to welcome Connie Powell back into the team. May Campbell has done really well for us but we feel Connie is right for this game.
“A number of players are returning and this fixture sees Hannah Botterman and Maud Muir start in the front row which will be their first starts of the tournament and vital playing time following spells on the sidelines.
“We are pleased to welcome Helena Rowland back among our finishers. Helena and our strength and conditioning team have worked tirelessly to get her back and she is a huge asset as we enter the business end of the Six Nations.
“Ireland are experiencing a period of transition at the moment. We know they are a very passionate nation and we will need to be at our best to perform and earn the desired result.”
Opta Facts – Ireland Women v England Women:
– England have won 18 of their previous 20 TikTok Women’s Six Nations matches against Ireland (L2), including each of the last six encounters
– England won their most recent match against Ireland by a margin of 69 points (69-0), and have prevented the girls in green from scoring a single point in each of their last two games
– Ireland have won six of their last nine home games in the Women’s Six Nations (L3), however, they lost their first home match in this year’s Championship by a margin of 50 points (53-3 v France), their heaviest home loss in the Five or Six Nations since 1999 (56-0 v England)
– Ireland have lost all three of their games in this year’s Women’s Six Nations, however they have not lost their opening four matches of a campaign since 2005
– England have won each of their last 22 games in the Women’s Six Nations, the longest such run by any team in the Championship, and have conceded just seven points or fewer in nine of their last 10 matches
– England have won 16 of their last 18 away games in the Women’s Six Nations (L2), with their only losses during that period both coming against France. Their most recent loss prior to that period came away to Ireland in 2015 (11-8)
– England have scored six tries directly from mauls in the Women’s Six Nations this year, twice as many as every other team combined (Wales 2, Scotland 1), while Ireland have gained 81 metres from their 16 mauls – their average of 5.1 metres per maul is the best of any nation
– England have won each of their 19 scrums on their own feed in the Championship this year, the only team with a 100% success rate this campaign. Ireland are the only other nation with a rate of 90% or better at the scrum (94%)
– England boast the two top try scorers in this year’s Championship within their ranks, with Marlie Packer and Abby Dow both crossing the try line five times each. Their team-mates, Jess Breach and Claudia MacDonald, are two of three players just behind on four tries (also France’s Gabrielle Vernier)
– Deirbhile Nic a Bháird (Ireland) and Marlie Packer (England) have each made 36 carries over the gain-line in the Women’s Six Nations this year, the joint most of any player. In fact, no other player has made 30+ carries over the gain-line in the Championship this campaign
– England’s Abby Dow has made the most metres over the gain-line of any player the Women’s Six Nations this year (415), while she has also beaten the most defenders (24) and is one of just two players to have made more than five line breaks in the Championship (8), alongside team-mate Jess Breach (7)
Recent Meetings –
2019: Women’s Six Nations: Ireland Women 7 England Women 51, Energia Park
2020: Women’s Six Nations: England Women 27 Ireland Women 0, Castle Park, Doncaster
2022: TikTok Women’s Six Nations: England Women 69 Ireland Women 0, Mattioli Woods Welford Road, Leicester
Support the Ireland Women on www.facebook.com/irishrugby or search #NothingLikeIt, #IREvENG and #ShouldertoShoulder on www.twitter.com/irishrugby.
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