With a new head coach and captain, fresh combinations and three uncapped players selected, a big crowd is expected at the RDS as Ireland begin their TikTok Women’s Six Nations campaign against Wales.
2022 TIKTOK WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS: Saturday, March 26
IRELAND WOMEN v WALES WOMEN, the RDS, 4.45pm (live Virgin Media One/BBC 2 Northern Ireland/BBC 2 Wales/RTÉ Radio 1)
Team News: Newly-appointed captain Nichola Fryday will lead Ireland in their TikTok Women’s Six Nations opener, with three uncapped players included in the matchday 23.
Aoibheann Reilly starts at scrum half having impressed for Blackrock College during the Energia All-Ireland League season, while forwards Christy Haney and Anna McGann are set for their first Test caps off the bench.
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In his first game in charge, Greg McWilliams has opted for an exciting blend of youth and experience in his side having worked closely with the extended squad during a series of preparatory camps at the IRFU High Performance Centre.
Linda Djougang, Neve Jones and Katie O’Dwyer combine in the front row, with Sam Monaghan joining new captain Fryday in the engine room.
Dorothy Wall has returned from injury having missed the two November Tests to start at blindside flanker, with Edel McMahon selected at openside and Brittany Hogan at number 8.
Reilly, who has featured on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series for Ireland, partners Nicole Cronin in the half-backs, with the Limerick native returning to the green jersey to win her 17th Test cap.
There is a new-look centre partnership with Stacey Flood linking up with Eve Higgins in midfield, while Lucy Mulhall, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe and Eimear Considine form an exciting back-three.
Haney, the Leinster captain this season, and McGann are among the replacements tasked with making a big impact. Emma Hooban, Chloe Pearse and Hannah O’Connor provide the other reinforcements for McWilliams up front.
Kathryn Dane, Enya Breen and Beibhinn Parsons, who has returned from a recent injury, complete the selected Ireland squad.
Commenting on his selection, McWilliams said: “This is a great start for us as a group, we’re really excited about the youth and experience in the team.
“We’ll learn a lot from this game, but for these players to go out and represent Ireland at the RDS is going to be special.
“It’ll be a great occasion and I’m excited to see how they perform, because we’ve got through a lot of work over the last couple of weeks.”
Meanwhile, Wales’ new head coach Ioan Cunningham has put together an experienced team for this first round clash. Seventeen of their players play for either Bristol Bears or Gloucester-Hartpury in the Premier 15s.
Full-back Kayleigh Powell returns for her first Test since the 2021 Six Nations, with replacement hooker Kelsey Jones also back after missing the autumn Tests.
Teenage talent Sisilia Tuipulotu, the daughter of Sione, is set to make her Wales debut off the bench. Worcester Warriors’ Sioned Harries is poised to win her first cap since lining out against Ireland in November 2019.
Wales have significantly strengthened their set-up, led by Cunningham, with the historic establishment of 12-month full-time WRU contracts for a dozen of their leading players.
Those contracts came into force in January, along with part-time deals for 12 other players, and McWilliams is expecting to face a much-improved Welsh side in Ballsbridge.
TikTok Women’s Six Nations Results/Fixtures
TikTok Women’s Six Nations Table
IRELAND WOMEN: Eimear Considine (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster); Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union RFC/Munster), Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC/Leinster), Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC/Leinster), Lucy Mulhall (Wicklow RFC/Leinster); Nicole Cronin (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Aoibheann Reilly (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht); Linda Djougang (ASM Romagnat Rugby/Leinster), Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury/Ulster), Katie O’Dwyer (Railway Union RFC/Leinster), Nichola Fryday (Exeter Chiefs/Connacht) (capt), Sam Monaghan (Wasps/IQ Rugby), Dorothy Wall (Blackrock College RFC/Munster), Edel McMahon (Wasps/IQ Rugby), Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster).
Replacements: Emma Hooban (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), Chloe Pearse (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Christy Haney (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), Anna McGann (Railway Union RFC/Connacht), Hannah O’Connor (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), Kathryn Dane (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster), Enya Breen (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Beibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht).
WALES WOMEN: Kayleigh Powell (Bristol Bears); Lisa Neumann (Gloucester-Hartpury), Hannah Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury), Kerin Lake (Gloucester-Hartpury), Jasmine Joyce (Bristol Bears); Elinor Snowsill (Bristol Bears), Keira Bevan (Bristol Bears); Gwenllian Pyrs (Sale Sharks), Carys Phillips (Worcester Warriors), Cerys Hale (Gloucester-Hartpury), Natalia John (Bristol Bears), Gwen Crabb (Gloucester-Hartpury), Alisha Butchers (Bristol Bears), Alex Callender (Worcester Warriors), Siwan Lillicrap (Bristol Bears) (capt).
Replacements: Kelsey Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury), Cara Hope (Gloucester-Hartpury), Donna Rose (Saracens), Sioned Harries (Worcester Warriors), Bethan Lewis (Gloucester-Hartpury), Ffion Lewis (Worcester Warriors), Robyn Wilkins (Gloucester-Hartpury), Sisila Tuipoulotu (Gloucester-Hartpury).
Referee: Kat Roche (USA)
Assistant Referees: Hollie Davidson (Scotland), Nikki O’Donnell (England)
TMO: Claire Hodnett (England)
Pre-Match Quotes – Nichola Fryday (Ireland Women):
We know exactly the kind of team Wales are – they’re physical, they’ll bring dominant carries and dominant tackles so we have to make sure that we’re on form on the pitch and executing the game-plan that we’ve put in place for them.
“We’ve had really good training days on Wednesday and Thursday, and our Captain’s Run, so we’re in a good spot for tomorrow. But it’s just about getting out on the pitch now and showing what we can do.
“We’re under no illusion that they’re going to bring everything they can, they have a point to prove just as much as us. So it’s going to be, I think, a really good match, to be honest.
“It will be one of the matches of the campaign, I think. We had a huge atmosphere in November for those two matches. There was about 1500 (fans) with restrictions at the time.
“Now we’re nearly at 6,000 in ticket sales – the atmosphere is going to be something that probably we, as a squad, have never experienced before at our home games.
“That’s hugely exciting for us, to have that support in the crowd and make that atmosphere in the stadium, I think it’s going to be a very good day.”
Ioan Cunningham (Wales Women):
We feel we have a good balance in the side with plenty of experience alongside some exciting young players too. It’s good to have players like Kayleigh, Kelsey and Sioned back in the squad at the start of this tournament.
“Sisilia has settled in well to the training environment after taking up a retainer contract and she fully deserves to make the next step to international rugby. The more exposure we can give her at this level, the more comfortable she will be.
“The game against the USA two weeks ago gave everyone a chance to stake their claim so we’re certainly rewarding performance but also very conscious that we have three Test matches in three weekends.
“There is now healthy competition throughout the squad which is ideal. We want to build on the good progress we saw in the autumn. We want to play a high tempo game and have challenged the players to perform at high intensity.”