IRELAND WOMEN’S HEAD coach Adam Griggs has made three changes to his side for their final Six Nations game against England in Coventry tomorrow evening [KO 5.30pm, RTÉ2].
After last week’s disappointing defeat to Scotland, Ireland’s hopes of claiming the Triple Crown are now over but Griggs’ side will be looking to end the championship on a high.
England, last year’s World Cup finalists, are still in the hunt for the Six Nations title but must beat Ireland at the Ricoh Arena and hope Wales do them a favour and defeat France at Colwyn Bay.
Griggs has looked to freshen things up slightly by promoting Louise Galvin and Nicole Cronin from the bench to the fullback and scrum-half positions respectively, while Ashleigh Baxter starts in the pack.
As part of the backline reshuffle, Hannah Tyrrell switches to the wing with Kim Flood dropping out while Munster nine Cronin partners Niamh Briggs in the half-back pairing.
Up front, Baxter joins captain Ciara Griffin and Claire Molloy in the back row with Paula Fitzpatrick moving into the second row alongside Aoife McDermott.
Ciara Cooney, returning from injury, is named on the bench.
“We have big test ahead of us playing England at home in our last game of the tournament,” Griggs said.
“They could potentially still win the tournament and we have no doubt they will want to finish the tournament on a positive note.
“We have a huge opportunity, and we want 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:
15. Hannah Tyrrell (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
14. Megan Williams (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
13. Katie Fitzhenry (Blackrock/Leinster)
12. Sene Naoupu (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
11. Louise Galvin (UL Bohemians/Munster)
10. Niamh Briggs (UL Bohemians/Munster)
9. Nicole Cronin (UL Bohemians/Munster)
1. Lindsay Peat (Railway Union/Leinster)
2. Cliodhna Moloney (Railway Union/Leinster)
3. Leah Lyons (Highfield/Munster)
4. Aoife McDermott (Railway Union/Leinster)
5. Paula Fitzpatrick (St. Mary’s/Leinster)
6. Ashleigh Baxter (Cooke/Ulster)
7. Claire Molloy (Bristol)
8. Ciara Griffin (UL Bohemians/Munster) (capt)
Replacements:
16. Ciara O’Connor (Galwegians/Connacht)
17. Laura Feely (Galwegians/Connacht)
18. Fiona Reidy (UL Bohemians/Munster)
19. Ciara Cooney (Railway Union/ Leinster)
20. Anna Caplice (UL Bohemians/ Munster)
21. Ailsa Hughes (Railway Union/Leinster)
22. Michelle Claffey (Blackrock/Leinster)
23. Kim Flood (Railway Union/Leinster)
