A championship on the line. A Grand Slam on the line. National pride on the line. And on St Patrick’s Day too.
Ireland head coach Tom Tierney has made one change to his Ireland team ahead of this Friday’s Six Nations title decider against England.
Tierney has drafted in Larissa Muldoon for the championship finalé at Donnybrook Atadium [8pm kick-off]. It is the only change from the XV that ground out a vital win over Wales last weekend.
The Irish backline is an exciting one, with Hannah Tyrrell and Alison Miller on the wings and Jenny Murphy partnering Sene Naoupu in midfield. Tierney said:
“We have a huge opportunity on St. Patrick’s Day and for us it’s about looking to rectify some of the areas of our game that we haven’t been happy with over the past few weeks and if we can make those small changes, then Friday evening’s game should be a great one.”
Ireland U20s provide the curtain-raiser for the women’s match with a highly-anticipated clash against table-topping England [6pm kick-off].
IRELAND WOMEN
15. Kim Flood (Railway Union/Leinster)
14. Hannah Tyrrell (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
13. Jenny Murphy (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
12. Sene Naoupu (Aylesford Bulls)
11. Alison Miller (Old Belvedere/Connacht)
10. Nora Stapleton (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
9. Larissa Muldoon (Railway Union)
1. Lindsay Peat (Railway Union/Leinster)
2. Leah Lyons (Highfield/Munster)
3. Ailis Egan (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
4. Sophie Spence (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
5. Marie-Louise Reilly (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
6. Ciara Griffin (UL Bohemians/Munster)
7. Claire Molloy (Bristol/Connacht)
8. Paula Fitzpatrick (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) Captain
Replacements
16. Ciara O’Connor (Galwegians/Connacht)
17. Ilse Van Staden (Cooke/Ulster)
18. Ruth O’Reilly (Galwegians/Connacht)
19. Ciara Cooney (Railway Union/Leinster)
20. Nichola Fryday (Tullamore/Connacht)
21. Mary Healy (Galwegians/Connacht)
22. Nikki Caughey (Railway Union/Ulster)
23. Mairead Coyne (Galwegians/Connacht)
