IRELAND HEAD COACH Adam Griggs has made two changes to his side for the final Women’s Six Nations game against Wales, with 17-year-old Beibhinn Parsons handed her first championship start.
Parsons, who was recently away with the Ireland sevens team, made her debut against USA last November and is named to start on the wing for Sunday’s trip to the Cardiff Arms Park [KO 1.30pm, RTÉ 2].
In the other alteration from last week, 38-year-old Lindsay Peat is back into the starting XV after coming off the bench against Italy and France, replacing Laura Feeley at loosehead.
Ireland are bidding to bounce back from two disappointing defeats in rounds three and four, and avoid a fifth-place championship finish, which would be their worst in 13 years.
“This is the last Test match of the international season for our players and we are determined to finish on a high,” Griggs said.
“Everyone is disappointed with the result against France, we want to make sure we take control of our performance this weekend and finish on a positive note moving forward.
“While we feel our results don’t reflect the team’s progress and performance over the past few weeks, we have been honest with ourselves and know we have to get better at playing at this level.
“The ladies have committed 100% to the last six months and have made a lot of positive strides forward, we now need to combine some of those exciting moments we’ve had with our continuous work ons to get that complete performance.”
Ireland women:
15. Lauren Delany
14. Eimear Considine
13. Enya Breen
12. Sene Naoupu
11. Beibhinn Parsons
10. Nicole Fowley
9. Kathryn Dane
1. Lindsay Peat
2. Deirbhile Nic A Bhaird
3. Fiona Reidy
4. Aoife McDermott
5. Nichola Fryday
6. Ciara Griffin (captain)
7. Claire Molloy
8. Claire McLaughlin.
Replacements:
16. Emma Hooban
17. Linda Djougang
18. Laura Feely
19. Edel McMahon
20. Anna Caplice
21. Nicole Cronin
22. Ellen Murphy
23. Laura Sheehan.
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