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Ireland change three following last Saturday's hammering by England
By Liam Heagney
Head coach Scott Bemand has made three changes to his Ireland Guinness Six Nations team trounced last weekend by England.
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The Irish embarrassingly lost out 10-88 at Twickenham against the defending champions and the reaction for this Saturday’s third-place decider at home to Scotland in Belfast has been to alter two backs, one forward, and also include an uncapped player on the bench.
In the backs, Meabh Deely is promoted from the bench to start at full-back in place of Lauren Delany while Enya Breen also makes the jump from the subs to swap places with midfielder Aoife Dalton, who takes up a spot in the reserves alongside Katie Heffernan, a Wolfhounds player with plenty of HSBC SVNS experience with Ireland.
Up front, there is just one tweak to the pack with co-captain Sam Monaghan restored to the side in place of Hannah O’Connor.
Bemand said in an IRFU media release: “Last week was tough but we have seen a great bounce back in training. We are excited to bring Scotland to Belfast.
“It will be a large and enthusiastic crowd, and we look forward to them revving up the atmosphere to drive the home advantage. With many permutations possible, we will focus on bringing the ‘best of us’ to go after that winning performance.”
Scotland, Italy, and Ireland are all in contention to finish third on the table and the prize is attractive – participation in this year’s WXV1 and qualification for next year’s Rugby World Cup.
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Ireland (vs Scotland, Saturday)
15. Meabh Deely (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht) 12
14. Katie Corrigan (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) 4
13. Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC) 16
12. Enya Breen (Blackrock College RFC/Munster) 19
11. Beibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht) 25
10. Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) 14
9. Aoibheann Reilly (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht) 11
1. Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) 36
2. Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury) 25
3. Christy Haney (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster) 17
4. Dorothy Wall (Blackrock College RFC/Munster) 27
5. Sam Monaghan (Gloucester-Hartpury) Co-Captain 20
6. Aoife Wafer (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster) 6
7. Edel McMahon (Exeter Chiefs) Co-Captain 27
8. Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster) 22
Replacements:
16. Cliodhna Moloney (Exeter Chiefs) 33
17. Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) 6
18. Sadhbh McGrath (Cooke RFC/Ulster) 12
19. Fiona Tuite (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster) 6
20. Shannon Ikahihifo (Ealing Trailfinders/IQ Rugby) 2
21. Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Leinster) 16
22. Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) 14
23. Katie Heffernan (Railway Union RFC/Leinster) uncapped
"As calm as we were after last week's win, we will be calm, reflective and go after the bits we need to for next week…"
– The Scott Bemand hot take after a 10-88 thumping for Ireland away to England, from Liam Heagney ?? in London. #ENGvIRE #GuinnessW6N #IrishRugby #rugby pic.twitter.com/xx5C9Az0az
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 20, 2024
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