DERIBHILE NIC A BHÁIRD will miss out on Ireland’s WXV3 campaign after she picked up a knock in training game at the weekend.
Nic a Bháird, the Munster No 8, was one of Ireland’s better players during last season’s disappointing Six Nations campaign.
Ireland head coach Scott Bemand has named his squad for the upcoming tournament in Dubai.
The squad is made up of 17 forwards and 13 backs with 15 players from the inter-provincial champions Leinster. The remainder of the squad is made up of three from Munster, three from Ulster, five from Connacht and four UK-based players.
Clara Barrett, Ruth Campbell, Megan Collis, Eimear Corri, Sarah Delaney and Katie Whelan are all coming into their first senior squad and have the opportunity alongside Fiona Tuite to earn their first international cap in Dubai.
Bemand said: “Since joining the program a month ago, there has been a significant amount of work gone in to enabling this group of players to perform on the world stage.
“The playing group has been brilliant, embracing a new culture and training identity that will lay the foundations for future success. We know what we’re going after and I’m excited to see them bring it to life in WXV.”
The squad will depart for Dubai on 6 October ahead of their first game on 13 October against Kazakhstan.
Fixtures:
- 13 October versus Kazakhstan 7.30pm local time, 4.30pm Irish time
- 21 October versus Colombia 5pm local time, 2pm Irish time
- 28 October versus Spain 5pm local time, 2pm Irish time
Ireland Squad
Forwards:
- Aoife Wafer (Blackrock College/Leinster) 1
- Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere/Ulster) 15
- Christy Haney (Blackrock College/Leinster) 10
- Dorothy Wall (Blackrock College/Munster) 20
- Edel McMahon (Exeter Chiefs) 21
- Eimear Corri (Blackrock College/Leinster)*
- Fiona Tuite (Old Belvedere/Ulster)*
- Grace Moore (Saracens/IQ Rugby) 10
- Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 29
- Maeve Óg O’Leary (Blackrock College/Munster) 4
- Megan Collis (Railway Union/Leinster)*
- Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury) 18
- Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 1
- Ruth Campbell (MU Barnhall/Leinster)*
- Sadhbh McGrath (City of Derry/Cooke/Ulster) 5
- Sam Monaghan (Gloucester-Hartpury/IQ Rugby) 15
- Sarah Delaney (Cill Dara/Leinster)*
Backs:
- Aoibheann Reilly (Blackrock College/Connacht) 4
- Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 7
- Aoife Doyle (Railway Union/Munster) 17
- Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College/Connacht) 18
- Clara Barrett (Ballina/Connacht)*
- Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 7
- Eve Higgins (Railway Union/Leinster) 9
- Katie Whelan (Old Belvedere/Leinster)*
- Leah Tarpey (Railway Union/Leinster) 2
- Méabh Deely (Blackrock College/Connacht) 7
- Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Railway Union/Leinster) 9
- Nicole Fowley (Galwegians/Connacht) 8
- Natasja Behan (Blackrock College/Leinster) 7
*Denotes uncapped
