Top 5 players of 2025: Ireland Women

All told, 2025 was a better than expected year for Ireland. The Rugby World Cup quarter-final heartache, falling to an agonisingly tight defeat to France in Sandy Park, will probably always linger for plenty.

Still, if at the start of the year you told both players and top brass at the IRFU that they would once again come third in the Six Nations and dominate France in a World Cup knockout match, falling just short of a semi-final spot, they probably would have taken it.

Clearly, with the year seeing Ireland outperform expectations, a number of players impressed. Across both the Six Nations and World Cup, multiple players stood out. Some who performed well in the Six Nations sadly didn’t make it to the global showpiece due to injury – Erin King chief among them.

Regardless, there are still plenty to chose from when compiling a list of who had the biggest impact in green across 2025. Did we get some wrong? You’re definitely going to think so. Feel free to let us know who we missed and who has been over-praised.

Here are Ireland’s top 5 players of the year:

Aoife Wafer (back row)
Too easy a number one? Sometimes the simple choices are the best ones. Wafer missed significant time through injury in 2025 but was still sufficiently dominant when on the pitch to top this list, even being named in the top five of RugbyPass’ Top 50 Women’s Players in August.

A knee issue saw the back row miss the final game of the Six Nations. Despite playing one game fewer than most of her rivals, Wafer still topped the competition for total carries and made more metres with ball in hand than any other forward, winning the Player of the Championship award and cementing her status as one of the game’s most powerful players in contact.

Four tries came Wafer’s way this year, two of which arrived during the Six Nations opener against France, Ireland game-planning their best carrier into advantageous positions in a match which saw them close the gap on the competition’s second best side.

A pair of knee injuries ultimately saw Wafer miss all of Ireland’s World Cup campaign bar the quarter-final defeat to the same French opponents. Those who caught a glimpse of Wafer limping in the team hotel were shocked to hear she would play any part in the competition, let alone start a knockout game.

In rainy conditions at Sandy Park, Wafer played her way through a ruptured MCL and broken collar bone, carrying 26 times and coming up with a pair of turnovers as Ireland almost held on for a memorable upset against France.

Stacey Flood (full back)
In terms of tries scored, Flood’s backfield colleagues and fellow sevens veterans Amee-Leigh Costigan and Anna McGann had better years. Yet in terms of all-round display, offering both a running threat and an ability to link with others, Flood was Ireland’s most potent backfield operator.

During the Six Nations, she punished teams who kicked loosely to her. Ireland’s victory over Wales in Newport was arguably her best game of the year, Flood constantly running back long balls with interest as she racked up 145 carry metres and kept her side on the front foot.

All told, she led Irish players for metres gained in the Six Nations, coming fifth of all players in the competition. In the early stages of the World Cup, against Japan in particular, she was part of a humming backline attack while, even in monsoon-like conditions during the France quarter-final, Flood still found away to make some ground with ball in hand, crossing for Ireland’s second try on the day.

Linda Djougang (prop)
Given Ireland’s lack of front row depth, Djougang is probably their most important player locking down the tighthead side of the scrum. Her performances across the year went beyond an old reliable, walking from scrum to scrum. Djougang was a genuine threat across the park.

She scored four tries in the Six Nations, as many as Wafer and joint second overall. Arguably the most important of those came in the World Cup quarter-final, her first half burst from close range giving Ireland a lead which should have been held onto up to the final whistle.

For all her try-scoring threat in 2025, Djougang’s most noteworthy contribution nevertheless came in the area which sees props make their money.

Ireland’s scrum is a historical weakness but surprisingly, in that quarter-final, they had the upper hand. Set-piece dominance saw them camp out in the French 22 in the early stages and Djougang more than held her own.

It was a stark contrast to the Six Nations encounter between these two where France had the Irish pack marching backwards on the regular. The improvement is a testament to all of the Irish front row but in the year in which she earned her 50th international cap, Djougang gets the nod on this list.

Eve Higgins (centre)
Another entry on this list which could easily go to a positional colleague. Both Irish centres, Higgins and Aoife Dalton, showed excellent form in 2025.

They are different types of players, Dalton an abrasive carrier who is happy taking poor quality possession and trying to turn it into a gain line carry.

Higgins is more than capable of rolling her own sleeves up, but she also has the ability to link play to Ireland’s sevens threats in the backfield.

Statistically speaking, Dalton had a better Six Nations with ball in hand, making more ground when carrying into contact. In the year’s bigger event, though, Higgins went a long way to single-handedly winning Ireland a match with her defensive interventions against Japan.

As the Japanese side threatened to make life awkward with a second half comeback, Higgins’ interception under the shadow of her own posts allowed her to sprint down the field and kill the game off. Given Ireland’s future struggles against the Black Ferns, avoiding an upset in that earlier pool encounter proved to be vital.

Higgins doesn’t win out on this list just because of one moment in an important game. Both players were excellent this year, Dalton even making RugbyPass’ Top 50 Women’s Players list, but highlight moments in big games sometimes do have to be recognised.

Brittany Hogan (back row)
A fixture in Ireland’s back row, Hogan was charged with filling the Wafer-sized hole in the Irish side when she missed so much time with injury. She did so admirably, taking the player of the match award during the World Cup opener against Japan.

Rotated out of the side in the next outing against Spain, Hogan was called upon earlier than anticipated after Sam Monaghan went down injured, putting in another solid display.

Hogan’s worth on both sides of the ball during the early stages of the World Cup was exemplary. Her form across the year ultimately culminated in a PWR move as she joins Sale Sharks from January 1st.