IRELAND BACKROW AOIFE Wafer will miss the opening World Cup game against Japan due to injury. Wafer has yet to arrive in the UK, instead remaining home in Dublin before joining the squad this weekend.

Wafer, who injured her knee both in the final Six Nations game against Scotland and then again in preseason training prior to this World Cup, underwent surgery in early July. She was still named in Ireland’s 32-strong squad despite the set-back.

Ireland began their on-pitch preparation for their opener at Franklin’s Gardens on Tuesday without their key backrow.

“31 players have come through training,” confirmed Ireland assistant coach Larissa Muldoon. “Aoife Wafer stayed at home just to work on a few bits of rehab. She will join us next week in preparation, looking into Spain.”

Wafer was left at home in Dublin as World Rugby rules dictate that once a player arrives in a World Cup host nation, they must be replaced should they return home. This is to avoid scenarios where countries located close to the World Cup – such as Ireland – can send players home for treatment more easily than rivals who face greater travel distances.

Permission can be granted in certain cases, as Ireland themselves learned during the most recent men’s World Cup. Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey was cleared to return to the squad after returning home for the birth of his child.

Ireland co-captain Edel McMahon, who missed both World Cup warm-up matches with her own knee injury, trained with the squad on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“She’s a massive personality back in the group, amazing leader,” said Muldoon. “The girls just stride around her. It’s fantastic to have her back in the environment and the standards she sets.”

Muldoon reiterated that Ireland’s backrow stocks remain strong despite the concerns surrounding Wafer and McMahon, while also pointing to her satisfaction with the training displays since landing in Northampton. “We had a few down days, the girls were really itching. We had our install yesterday, we wanted to go, we were definitely ready to attack the day.

“We had a fantastic session, one of our best. What I loved is everything we were going after last week and this week, technical and tactical, translated to on the pitch. So some of the girls put their hand up.

“People forget the like of Claire Boles have come back in,” said the former Ireland scrumhalf. “Ivana Kiripati has come through the U20s pathway. [There are] amazing players coming through and giving us that element of compete in our training environment and identity, which is all a part of this green wave.”