Ireland U-20 Women’s Team Named For Summer Series Opener

Captain Jane Neill is one of the returning players included in the Ireland Under-20 Women’s team (sponsored by PwC) for Saturday’s opening Six Nations Summer Series match against Wales in Ystrad Mynach (kick-off 3.30pm – live on irishrugby+).

Back for a second year after last summer’s successful inaugural event in Parma, the Women’s Summer Series features predominantly Under-20 players, with each nation permitted to include up to five U-23 players per matchday squad.

With three rounds of games taking place at the Centre for Sporting Excellence in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly, the competition provides a platform not only for players but also for coaches and match officials to gain valuable experience in a cross-Union setting.

Ireland U-20 head coach Niamh Briggs has seven players with experience of the 2024 Summer Series in her starting XV, along with Lily Morris and Ellie O’Sullivan Sexton on the replacements bench.

Leinster lock Neill leads the team again, forming a second row partnership with Aoibhe O’Flynn, an Energia All-Ireland League winner with UL Bohemian in April. The pair played together with the Clovers in this season’s Celtic Challenge.

Beth Buttimer and Sophie Barrett both have experience of last year’s Summer Series, scoring two tries between them with tighthead prop Barrett receiving the Most Valuable Player accolade. 19-year-old Connacht prop Ella Burns completes the front row.

A new-look back row sees Connacht duo Poppy Garvey and Jemima Adams Verling combine with MU Barnhall’s Aoife Corcoran, who was part of last year’s Ireland Under-18 squad along with Adams Verling and a number of her new U-20 team-mates.

Caitríona Finn, who only turned 19 last month, and her half-back partner Jade Gaffney, the vice-captain, are back for their second Summer Series campaign, while the centre berths are filled by Lyndsay Clarke, who helped Ennis to gain promotion recently, and Ulster’s Tara O’Neill.

Ireland’s back-three of Niamh Gallagher, Hannah Clarke, and Robyn O’Connor (pictured above) were all part of last year’s Ireland U-20 squad. It has been a busy summer already for Clarke and O’Connor, who played for Ireland in the Rugby Europe Women’s Sevens Championship Series.

Looking to make an impact off the bench will be Balbriggan youngster Alma Atagamen, who has been part of Ireland’s Rugby World Cup preparation squad. She also impressed with a hat-trick of tries in the Ireland U-20s’ 32-14 win over Canada in a training match in May.

Maebh Clenaghan, Saoirse Crowe, Morris, and Rosie Searle are the other replacement forwards selected by Briggs and her coaching team, with backs Emily Foley, O’Sullivan Sexton, and Clara Dunne completing the matchday 23.

Speaking ahead of the opening game, Ireland captain Neill said: “I’m absolutely buzzing. We’re really excited as a team, and we’re obviously playing the host nation Wales so that’ll be tough. They will probably have a really big crowd.

“We’ve trained well over the last couple of days so we’re ready to get going. We’ve been lucky enough to have got going in April, that’s when we had our first camp.

“We’ve been building since then. We were lucky enough to play Canada twice in May, which was really interesting for us to get two games out there as a team.”

IRELAND UNDER-20 WOMEN’S TEAM & REPLACEMENTS (v Wales Under-20s, 2025 Six Nations Women’s Summer Series, Centre for Sporting Excellence, Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly, Saturday, July 5, kick-off 3.30pm):

15. Niamh Gallagher (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby)
14. Hannah Clarke (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
13. Lyndsay Clarke (Ennis RFC/Munster)
12. Tara O’Neill (Cooke RFC/Ulster)
11. Robyn O’Connor (Wexford Wanderers RFC/Leinster)
10. Caitríona Finn (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)
9. Jade Gaffney (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) (vice-capt)
1. Ella Burns (Tuam/Oughterard RFC/Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
2. Beth Buttimer (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)
3. Sophie Barrett (Enniskillen RFC/Ulster)
4. Jane Neill (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) (capt)
5. Aoibhe O’Flynn (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)
6. Poppy Garvey (Railway Union RFC/Connacht)
7. Aoife Corcoran (MU Barnhall RFC/Leinster)
8. Jemima Adams Verling (Creggs RFC/Connacht)

Replacements:

16. Maebh Clenaghan (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
17. Saoirse Crowe (Shannon RFC/UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)
18. Lily Morris (Ballincollig RFC/Munster)
19. Alma Atagamen (Balbriggan RFC/Leinster)
20. Rosie Searle (Navan RFC/Leinster)
21. Emily Foley (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
22. Ellie O’Sullivan Sexton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)
23. Clara Dunne (Wicklow RFC/Leinster)