Triple change for Ireland as Robyn O'Connor makes debut

Robyn O’Connor will make her debut on the wing for Ireland against Italy this weekend in the Guinness Women’s Six Nations, with the Ireland Women head coach Scott Bemand opting for three changes to his side.

Leinster wing O’Connor, 20, replaces Vicky Elmes Kinlan on the left wing. Nancy McGillivray is named at inside centre, replacing Eve Higgins, while there is also a start in the second row Ruth Campbell in place of Dorothy Wall.

Wall and Higgins are both named as replacements with Ireland keeping their front row, back row and half-backs intact from last weekend’s 33-12 defeat to England at Allianz Stadium.

Ireland are expecting a bumper crowd of over 8,000 at the Dexcom Stadium, and defeated Italy 54-12 when the two sides met in last year’s competition.

Assistant coach Gareth Steenson addressed Ireland’s performance earlier this week, suggesting there had been “a few tough conversations” around the squad kicking on to the next level.

“There’s positives for sure (from the performance against England), but there are frustrations. This group is in a position now where they want to move forward. There’s been a few tough conversations this week, which has actually been really good for the group.

“I think we’re at a stage now where, you know, we want to break into that top four in the world. Ultimately, we’ve got to be able to try and push the boundaries.

“There was some good stuff done over in Twickenham. But again, it probably felt like we maybe took a little bit of time to get into the game. Obviously, going points down against a team that is as strong as England are, it’s always going to be hard to come back in those scenarios.

“But the good thing was the way that we finished the game, we took a lot of positives from the end part of the game. We’ve just got to shore up how we actually approach the game in order to start with.”

Ireland squad v Italy

15 Stacey Flood (25 caps)
14 Béibhinn Parsons (32 caps)
13 Aoife Dalton (29 caps)
12 Nancy McGillivray (4 caps)
11 Robyn O’Connor*
10 Dannah O’Brien (31 caps)
9 Emily Lane (21 caps)
1 Ellena Perry (5 caps)
2 Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald (50 caps)
3 Linda Djougang (53 caps)
4 Ruth Campbell (13 caps)
5 Fiona Tuite (21 caps)
6 Brittany Hogan (39 caps)
7 Erin King (Captain, 8 caps)
8 Aoife Wafer (17 caps)

Replacements:
16 Neve Jones (42 caps)
17 Niamh O’Dowd (21 caps)
18 Sadhbh McGrath (19 caps)
19 Dorothy Wall (38 caps)
20 Sam Monaghan (27 caps)
21 Katie Whelan (one cap)
22 Eve Higgins (33 caps)
23 Anna McGann (15 caps)

* denotes uncapped