Vodafone Women’s Interpros: Round 2 – Leinster v Munster Preview

VODAFONE WOMEN’S INTERPROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 2:

Saturday, August 16 –

LEINSTER (2nd) v MUNSTER (1st), Energia Park, 2.30pm (live on Spórt TG4 YouTube Channel)

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Match Programme – Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship Round 2

Vodafone Women’s Interpros: Player Rankings – Top Tens After Round 1

Recent Interprovincial Form: Leinster: WLWWW; Munster: WWWLW

2025/26 Interprovincial Championship Top Scorers: Leinster – Points: Emma Brogan 15; Tries: Emma Brogan 3; Munster – Points: Chisom Ugwueru 15; Tries: Chisom Ugwueru 3

Last Five Meetings: 2023: Munster 26 Leinster 17, Virgin Media Park; Leinster 26 Munster 19, Energia Park; Final: Munster 14 Leinster 33, Virgin Media Park; 2024: Munster 32 Leinster 21, Virgin Media Park; Final: Munster 7 Leinster 27, Kingspan Stadium

Players To Watch Out For: Leinster: Vicky Elmes Kinlan – Almost a year on from her 15s international debut for Ireland, Elmes Kinlan will make her senior bow for Leinster, joining fellow Sevens international Kathy Baker in a new-look centre partnership. The 22-year-old Wicklow star missed out on Rugby World Cup selection, but could prove a key figure for her province.

Munster: Aoife Fleming – Up-and-coming hooker Fleming got through a good amount of work on her debut against Connacht, playing the final 23 minutes in Cork. Still only 20, the Tipperary native steps up for her first start here. Her twin sister Ciara is also part of the extended Munster squad.

Pre-Match Views – Jade Gaffney (Leinster): “It will be great to have the crowd behind us again, cheering us on. I think for Munster having to travel up, gives us already that advantage of a home game but they’re a great side to play against, and it’s always an exciting game.

“Like ourselves, Munster have a great platform ip front, their forwards are very strong, so we just have to match them and focus on ourselves, and hopefully come away with a win.

“It was a really positive start for us against Ulster last weekend. It’s how we wanted to start this campaign. 13 new caps, that’s definitely a positive as well. They slotted in perfectly, and we got to come away with the win.

“I was vice-captain for the (Ireland) Under-20s in the Summer Series, so I think that helped me find my ground, find my voice, and be able to come into the Interpros with Leinster with the same sort of role.”

Niamh Briggs (Munster): “Leinster are an excellent side, they’ve won the last two Interpros. I thought from last year to this year, they’ve a lot of continuity around their players. They’ve also got a lot of young players coming through that have been really good.

“They play a really exciting brand of rugby where they look to play on top, and are really comfortable in that kind of chaos, unstructured play. I think for us, we’ve just got to continue to improve. There’s definitely areas that we want to get after from a defensive set point.

“Some connections and stuff around our attack shape, and I think for us it’s just around how we set up, how our mindset is come Saturday. It’s an away game, it offers a different challenge, especially for that younger group. We’ve just got to keep building, keep looking after ourselves.

“I thought the players were excellent over the whole 80 minutes (against Connacht). I think I was most pleased with those young players, we finished the game with a lot of players in the 19, 20, 21 bracket. It was really good in terms of the scoreline, and I think we put Connacht under a lot of pressure.”

Team News: There are two changes to the Leinster team that won 37-21 against Ulster, with Ellie O’Sullivan Sexton continuing at full-back, having replaced the injured Caoimhe McCormack early on last Sunday, and Vicky Elmes Kinlan coming in for her debut in midfield.

Elmes Kinlan was part of Ireland’s Rugby World Cup preparation squad but missed the cut for the tournament in England. More known as a Sevens international, the Paris Olympian won her first 15s international cap on the wing against Australia last September.

The youngster from Rathnew has 15s experience with Wicklow and the Wolfhounds, and has played four times for Ireland over the last 11 months. That includes three appearances during this year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations, and a first start on the right wing against Scotland.

Tomorrow afternoon she will team up in the centre with fellow Sevens regular Kathy Baker, the player-of-the-match against Ulster. Head coach Ben Martin has also retained hat-trick hero Emma Brogan, Maggie Boylan (pictured below), Nikki Caughey, and Jade Gaffney in the back-line.

Captain Molly Boyne leads an unchanged pack for the defending champions, supported by Ciara Short and Ireland Under-20 skipper Jane Neill in the back row. Blackrock College pair Clíodhna Ní Chonchobhair and Kate Jordan will line out together again at lock.

Lisa Callan is flanked by Aoife Moore and Katie Layde in the front row, while Martin is set to hand out three more debuts with Hannah Wilson, Alma Atagamen, and Heidi Lyons all added to the replacements bench.

Balbriggan powerhouse Atagamen steps up after impressing for the Wolfhounds and Ireland U-20s, while talented Naas and North Midlands back Lyons gets her opportunity having been part of the Ireland Under-18 Women’s squad earlier this year.

Katie Whelan, another of the returning Sevens internationals, comes in as the reserve scrum half, and Kelly Burke, Clodagh Dunne, Rosie Searle, and Katie Corrigan are among the replacements once more.

Meanwhile, Munster head coach Matt Brown has rewarded hooker Aoife Fleming and winger Órna Moynihan with their first senior starts for the province, following on from their debuts off the bench against Connacht.

For the trip to Donnybrook, Brown has retained a dozen players in the starting XV from last Sunday’s 44-5 victory. The third and final personnel change sees UL Bohemian veteran Clodagh O’Halloran rejoin the back row.

Captain Maeve Óg O’Leary and Chloe Pearse complete an experienced trio of loose forwards, with 70 Munster appearances between them. Aoibhe O’Flynn and Claire Bennett continue together in the engine room.

Ballincollig’s Fleming takes over from Saoirse Crowe at hooker, Gráinne Burke (pictured below) holds onto the loosehead prop spot following her try-scoring debut, and Eilís Cahill will make her 15th appearance for the province at tighthead.

Caitríona Finn, last week’s player-of-the-match, will have Abbie Salter-Townshend alongside her again at half-back. The 19-year-old Finn drew praise from Briggs for her ‘excellent’ performance and how she is ‘coming into a nice bit of confidence’.

Moynihan replaces her Ennis club-mate Lyndsay Clarke on the right wing, having had a very good run off the bench last Sunday. She provided the assist for Kate Flannery’s penultimate try, and threatened to score herself from a kick through.

Chisom Ugwueru, who kicked off the Championship with an eye-catching hat-trick, and Aoife Corey complete the back-three, and UL Bohs duo Alana McInerney and Stephanie Nunan will occupy the centre berths for the second week running.

Munster have been boosted by the inclusion of Deirbhile Nic a Bháird who will don the red jersey for the first time since September 2023, following her ACL tear last year. The Cork woman, who was part of Ireland’s World Cup preparation squad, will start on the bench.

Nic a Bháird will be joined by Ciara McLoughlin, Emma Dunican, Jane Clohessy, Ballincollig pair Lily Morris and Eve Prendergast, who were two of the debutants during the opening round, Lucia Linn, and Kate Flannery.

LEINSTER: Ellie O’Sullivan Sexton (Old Belvedere RFC); Emma Brogan (MU Barnhall RFC), Kathy Baker (Blackrock College RFC), Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow RFC), Maggie Boylan (Blackrock College RFC); Nikki Caughey (Railway Union RFC), Jade Gaffney (Old Belvedere RFC); Aoife Moore (Blackrock College RFC), Lisa Callan (Old Belvedere RFC), Katie Layde (Old Belvedere RFC), Clíodhna Ní Chonchobhair (Blackrock College RFC), Kate Jordan (Blackrock College RFC), Ciara Short (Wicklow RFC), Molly Boyne (Railway Union RFC) (capt), Jane Neill (Old Belvedere RFC).

Replacements: Kelly Burke (MU Barnhall RFC), Hannah Wilson (Old Belvedere RFC), Clodagh Dunne (Old Belvedere RFC), Alma Atagamen (Balbriggan RFC), Rosie Searle (Navan RFC), Katie Whelan (Old Belvedere RFC), Heidi Lyons (Naas RFC), Katie Corrigan (Old Belvedere RFC).

MUNSTER: Aoife Corey (UL Bohemian RFC); Órna Moynihan (Ennis RFC), Alana McInerney (UL Bohemian RFC), Stephanie Nunan (UL Bohemian RFC), Chisom Ugwueru (UL Bohemian RFC); Caitríona Finn (UL Bohemian RFC), Abbie Salter-Townshend (UL Bohemian RFC); Gráinne Burke (UL Bohemian RFC), Aoife Fleming (Ballincollig RFC), Eilís Cahill (UL Bohemian RFC), Aoibhe O’Flynn (UL Bohemian RFC), Claire Bennett (UL Bohemian RFC), Clodagh O’Halloran (UL Bohemian RFC), Maeve Óg O’Leary (Blackrock College RFC) (capt), Chloe Pearse (UL Bohemian RFC).

Replacements: Emma Dunican (Tralee RFC), Ciara McLoughlin (UL Bohemian RFC), Jane Clohessy (UL Bohemian RFC), Lily Morris (Ballincollig RFC), Deirbhile Nic a Bháird (Old Belvedere RFC), Eve Prendergast (Ballincollig RFC), Lucia Linn (UL Bohemian RFC), Kate Flannery (UL Bohemian RFC).

Referee: Siobhán Daly (IRFU)