Ireland Women’s Sevens Squad Selected For World Series Opener In Glendale

The Ireland Women’s Sevens squad has been announced for the opening HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series leg of the 2019/20 season in Glendale, Colorado this weekend.

13 players will make the trip Stateside for the HSBC USA Women’s Sevens where they are drawn in Pool B. They will get their campaign underway against European rivals France on Saturday at 10.37am local time/5.37pm Irish time, before facing hosts USA and series newcomers Brazil later in the day.

The squad will be captained again by Wicklow woman Lucy Mulhall and includes Tullow youngster Anna Doyle who is making her first World Series trip. The speedy 19-year-old, who won her first Ireland Sevens cap in Kazan last year, is set to become the latest player from the IRFU Women’s Development pathway to make her World Series debut.

In a further boost to the Ireland Women’s side, the strong-running Katie Fitzhenry makes a welcome return to the squad, having missed out on most of last season due to a cruciate knee ligament injury.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s opening tournament, Ireland Sevens coach Stan McDowell said:

Looking at what’s coming through this season from the player pathway, it’s an exciting time for the Women’s Sevens game. There is some really good talent that we can continue to develop and strengthen our squad for the 2019/20 World Series and beyond.

“We have been training out at our new High Performance Centre in Blanchardstown, which has been a great facility for the players to train from, and we are really looking forward to the series ahead.”

The Women’s Series will continue in Dubai and Cape Town in December with the first of the double rounds with the men’s competition. There are also back-to-back legs scheduled for Hamilton and Sydney in late January-early February, before the Women’s campaign concludes with tournaments in Hong Kong in April and Langford and Paris – both in May. Click here for the Glendale fixtures and pools.

IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS Squad (2019/20 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series – Round 1, Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado, USA, Saturday, October 5-Sunday, October 6):

Kathy Baker (Blackrock/Leinster)
Megan Burns (Tullamore/Leinster)
Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union/Munster)
Anna Doyle (Tullow/Leinster)
Katie Fitzhenry (Blackrock/Leinster)
Stacey Flood (Railway Union/Leinster)
Louise Galvin (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Katie Heffernan (Mullingar/Railway Union/Leinster)
Eve Higgins (Railway Union/Leinster)
Emily Lane (Mallow/Munster)
Lucy Mulhall (Rathdrum) (capt)
Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird (Old Belvedere/Munster)
Hannah Tyrrell (Old Belvedere/Leinster)

IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS Fixtures – USA 7s:

Saturday, October 5 –

POOL B:

France v Ireland, Infinity Park, Glendale, 10.37am local time/5.37pm Irish time
USA v Ireland, Infinity Park, Glendale, 1.43pm local time/8.43pm Irish time
Ireland v Brazil, Infinity Park, Glendale, 4.05pm local time/11.05pm Irish time

Sunday, October 6 –

Play-Offs & Finals

IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS – World Series Schedule:

October 5-6, 2019: Infinity Park, Colorado, USA

December 5-7: The Sevens, Dubai, UAE

December 13-15: Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa

January 25-26, 2020: FMG Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand

February 1-2: Bankwest Stadium, Sydney, Australia

April 3-5: Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong

May 2-3: Westhills Stadium, Langford, Canada

May 30-31, 2020: Stade Jean-Bouin, Paris, France

* All fixture details correct at time of publication/subject to change