The fifth round of games in the 2024/2025 Celtic Challenge Women’s Rugby competition gets underway this weekend with the Wolfhounds taking on Brython Thunder in UCD at 1.30pm on Saturday January 18th. This game was due to be played on January 25th but was moved due to travel complications for the visiting team. After an impressive bonus point win against Brython Thunder last week in Llanelli, the Wolfhounds welcome the same opposition to Dublin for the return fixture. Head Coach Neill Alcorn has made three personnel changes to the starting line up with Christy Haney, Anna Doyle and the 2024 World Rugby Women’s XV Dream Team’s Aoife Wafer making her first appearance of the competition. There are positional changes with Claire Boles and Erin King moving to six and seven to facilitate Wafer at eight with Ella Roberts also moving to eleven having started at fourteen last week. Brython Thunder will be looking for their first win in the competition this weekend, having lost both derby games against Gwalia and being beaten narrowly by Edinburgh in round three. Tickets for this weekend’s game in UCD are available here on Ticketmaster The game will be shown live on IrishRugby+ and on the TG4 Player.

Wolfhounds squad to play Brython Thunder at 1.30pm on Saturday Jan 18th:

15. Stacey Flood (Railway Union/Leinster) 14. Anna Doyle (Blackrock RFC/Leinster) 13. Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 12. Eve Higgins (Railway Union) 11. Ella Roberts (Wicklow RFC/Leinster) 10. Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 9. Jade Gaffney (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 1. Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 2. Maebh Clenaghan (Queens/Cooke/Ulster) 3. Christy Haney (Blackrock RFC/Leinster) 4. Alma Atagamen (Balbriggan/Leinster) 5. Cliodhna Ni Chonchobhair (Blackrock College/Leinster) 6. Claire Boles (Railway Union/Ulster) Captain 7. Erin King (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 8. Aoife Wafer (Blackrock RFC/Leinster) Replacements 16. Kelly Burke (Mullingar/Leinster) 17. Caoimhe Molloy (Wicklow/Leinster) 18. Sophie McAllister (Ballymena RFC/Ulster) 19. Molly Boyne (Railway Union/Leinster) 20. Poppy Garvey (Railway Union/Connacht 21. Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere/Ulster) 22. Rachael McIlroy (Queens/Ulster) 23. Leah Tarpey (Railway Union/Leinster)