IRELAND WOMEN HAVE been dealt a double injury blow ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations game against France, further compromising Adam Griggs’ side for the Donnybrook clash [KO 7pm, RTÉ2].
After losing Michelle Claffey and Leah Lyons to injury, Ireland have been forced into two late changes to their matchday squad, with Juliet Short and Megan Williams both now ruled out.
Second row Short had originally replaced Aoife McDermott in Griggs’ starting XV, which was named yesterday, but the latter is promoted back into the engine room having started the last three games.
Meanwhile, Megan Williams has also dropped out having been selected on the bench with 17-year-old Beibhinn Parsons — who made her senior debut against USA last November — called up to fill the number 23 jersey.
Ireland face a huge task against defending Grand Slam champions France, who arrive in Dublin needing a victory to keep their championship hopes alive going into the final weekend.
The visitors are boosted by the return of Jessy Trémoulière, the World Player of the Year, who will make her comeback appearance for France at fullback after recovering from a knee injury she sustained last Autumn.
Griggs’ side, having suffered a heavy home defeat to England on the opening weekend before losing to Italy last time out, are desperate for a big performance in front of a big Donnybrook, but have an ominous mountain to climb.
“We have targeted that top-three finish and there’s only so much building and talking about younger players that you can have so we would be disappointed with [finishing lower], absolutely,” Griggs said after this afternoon’s captain’s run.
“In terms of the new caps and younger squad members we are pretty happy with where we are going but we want results and at the moment we are not getting those. We need to fix that.”
Ireland women:
15. Lauren Delany (Firwood Waterloo Ladies/IQ Rugby)
14. Eimear Considine (UL Bohemians/Munster)
13. Enya Breen (UL Bohemians/Munster)
12. Sene Naoupu (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
11. Alison Miller (Old Belvedere/Connacht)
10. Nicole Fowley (Galwegians/Connacht)
9. Kathryn Dane (Old Belvedere/Ulster)
1. Laura Feely (Galwegians/Connacht)
2. Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird (UL Bohemians/Munster)
3. Fiona Reidy (UL Bohemians/Munster)
4. Aoife McDermott (Railway Union/Leinster)
5. Nichola Fryday (Galwegians/Connacht)
6. Ciara Griffin (UL Bohemians/Munster) (captain)
7. Claire Molloy (Wasps)
8. Claire McLaughlin (Old Belvedere/Ulster)
Replacements:
16. Emma Hooban (St. Mary’s/Leinster)
17. Lindsay Peat (Railway Union/Leinster)
18. Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
19. Anna Caplice (Richmond)
20. Claire Boles (Railway Union/Ulster)
21. Nicole Cronin (UL Bohemians/Munster)
22. Ellen Murphy (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
23. Beibhinn Parsons (Ballinasloe/Connacht).
Andy Dunne joins Murray Kinsella and Ryan Bailey to discuss Joe Schmidt’s undroppables and how France might attack Ireland’s predictability in The42 Rugby Weekly.
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