Ireland Women’s Rugby Head Coach Scott Bemand has named his first match day squad for Friday’s opening WXV3 showdown against Kazakhstan at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai.
Ireland will compete in three rounds of the inaugural WXV competition, with all the action streamed for free on RugbyPass TV.
Bemand has selected an experienced squad for the opening match on Friday evening, with co-captains Sam Monaghan and Edel McMahon starting in the second row and back row respectively.
The co-captains form part of a strong pack, with Linda Djougang, Neve Jones and Christy Haney named in the front row and Dorothy Wall joining Monaghan in the engine room. Grace Moore is at blindside flanker, McMahon at openside and Brittany Hogan at number eight.
The backline contains an exciting blend of youth and experience, with Meabh Deely, Beibhinn Parsons and Natasja Behan starting in the back three, Aoife Dalton and Eve Higgins paired together in midfield and Molly Scuffil-McCabe and Dannah O’Brien selected in the half-backs.
Parsons was unavailable for the spring TikTok Six Nations while on Olympoic Qualification duty with the sevens but is a welcome addition to the team.
Bemand has named three uncapped players on the bench, with forwards Sarah Delaney, Meg Collis and Eimear Corri all in line to make their Test debuts in green.
“It’s very exciting to name a first team as head coach to compete in the inaugural WXV competition,” said Bemand.
“We have gone with a blended squad of experience and new players and this match day 23 get their first opportunity to put our identity out there in a Test.”
“This WXV competition is going to be a great leadership experience for our co-captains Edel and Sam. We have seen how the potential debutants have competed at training and this will be a big moment for them and their families.”
The match will be on at 4:30 PM Irish time and will be streamed free live on RugbyPassTV once you have registered.
Ireland’s other games in Dubai will be against Colombia and Spain on the 21st and 28th October.
