Vodafone Women’s Interpros: Final – Munster v Leinster Preview

Leinster scuppered Munster’s tilt at a third straight Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship crown two years ago. Now the shoe is on the other foot, as Saturday’s final in Donnybrook has Matt Brown’s table-topping Reds looking to follow up on their recent 33-22 win over their arch rivals.

VODAFONE WOMEN’S INTERPROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL:

Saturday, August 30 –

MUNSTER (1st) v LEINSTER (2nd), Energia Park, 4.30pm (live on Spórt TG4 YouTube Channel)

Buy Your Match Ticket(s) Here

Match Programme – Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship Finals Day

Vodafone Women’s Interpros: Player Rankings – Top Tens After Round 3

Recent Interprovincial Form: Munster: WLWWW; Leinster: WWWLW

2025/26 Interprovincial Championship Top Scorers: Munster – Points: Caitríona Finn, Chisom Ugwueru 25 each; Tries: Chisom Ugwueru 5; Leinster – Points: Emma Brogan, Kathy Baker 15 each; Tries: Emma Brogan, Kathy Baker 3 each

Last Five Meetings: 2023: Leinster 26 Munster 19, Energia Park; Final: Munster 14 Leinster 33, Virgin Media Park; 2024: Munster 32 Leinster 21, Virgin Media Park; 2024: Final: Munster 7 Leinster 27, Kingspan Stadium; 2025: Leinster 22 Munster 33, Energia Park

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Points
MUNSTER	3	3	0	0	115	44	+71	19	8	3	0	15
LEINSTER	3	2	0	1	76	66	+10	14	10	2	0	10
CONNACHT	3	1	0	2	29	68	-39	5	12	0	1	5
ULSTER	3	0	0	3	45	87	-42	7	15	0	1	1

Players To Watch Out For: Munster: Eve Prendergast –  Livewire 19-year-old scrum half Prendergast was one of 15 uncapped players included in Munster’s extended squad this summer, and the reward of her first start in the red jersey comes in an Interprovincial final. A former Leinster Under-18 player, she now studies in Cork and plays with Ballincollig.

Leinster: Rosie Searle – Hoping to finish her first senior Interpro campaign with silverware, Searle has retained the number 8 shirt after making her first start in Galway last week. In the injured-enforced absence of fellow Ireland U-20 international Jane Neill, the Navan player has shown her ability as a robust ball carrier and tackler.

Pre-Match Views – Matt Brown (Munster): “We genuinely believe with the ball carriers we’ve got, if we can get go-forward (ball), we’ve got strike power out wide to play off the back of it, and obviously our accuracy has to hold up. When it’s good, you can see the scores we get.

“Leinster are very capable of going the length of the pitch and they showed that in the first game (against us), so we really need to control the ball. Tactically, we might try and manage the ball a little bit better and maybe not be in a rush to try and get it straight to the edge.

“We’re just going to have to be a little bit cuter, and perhaps employ a kicking game a little bit more. But again, if they offer us space, I would hope that the girls have the confidence to take it, and they’re certainly very good at it. The accuracy is going to be massive there if we want to execute.”

Aoife Moore (Leinster): “These are the games we look forward to all season. We’ve put in a lot of work since the middle of June. Like the last couple of years, it’s not been a straight road necessarily, but I think we’ve done what we’ve needed to do thus far to get to here.

“I think it’s just about putting in a massive, massive amount of work this week, and just doing the simple things really well and getting out on the pitch on Saturday and getting ready to rumble.

“This is not the first time we’ve been in this position. It was similiar last year, and the same with the previous campaign when Connacht had beaten us and we still managed to build again. We know what we need to rectify. I think it’s anyone’s game, I think it’s going to be a fantastic match.”

Team News: Injuries have impacted both team selections, and most notably Munster’s back-line will be missing Chisom Ugwueru, who is unfortunately sidelined after scoring her fifth try in three games, and Stephanie Nunan who suffered a knee injury in Belfast.

That means opportunity knocks for Ennis flyer Lyndsay Clarke to return to the starting XV, for only her second appearance, and fellow Ireland U-20 international Lucia Linn joins Caitríona Finn, the competition’s joint top points scorer (25 points), in the centre.

Munster head coach Matt Brown has made five changes to the team that won 38-17 away to Ulster, and there is a first start for UL Bohemian prop Ciara McLoughlin on the loosehead side. She came up through the ranks at St. Mary’s and has captained Shannon.

Deirbhile Nic a Bháird and Eilís Cahill complete the front row, backed up by Clodagh O’Halloran and Claire Bennett in the engine room. The UL Bohs lock pairing have made a combined 42 senior appearances.

Maeve Óg O’Leary, the two-try player-of-the-match against Ulster, will captain Munster from the back row, as they seek a 16th Interprovincial title. Jane Clohessy reverts to the blindside flanker berth, and Chloe Pearse has been passed fit to start at number 8.

Donning the number 9 shirt for the first time will be Ballincollig’s Eve Prendergast, who was previously a Leinster U-18 player. She will have Kate Flannery outside her at half-back, and the Finn and Linn combination in midfield.

Although Ugwueru’s absence is a big blow, Munster’s back-three still has plenty of potency to it, with Alana McInerney, the top try scorer in last season’s Championship with seven tries, on the right wing, teenager Clarke on the left, and Aoife Corey continuing at full-back.

Sally Kelly and Meghan Crilly, two of the debutants during the Ulster match, have held onto their places on the bench. Brianna Heylmann is Munster’s most experienced replacement with eight appearances, and Shannon back rower Annakate Cournane will wear the number 23 jersey.

Meanwhile, Nikki Caughey and vice-captain Jade Gaffney return at half-back for a Leinster team that is certainly battle-hardened after coming through a gruelling encounter with Connacht in the last round.

Head coach Ben Martin has made seven personnel changes, some of which are due to injuries. Maggie Boylan is back on the left wing, with Vicky Elmes Kinlan, the scorer of the decisive try against the westerners, on the right.

Blackrock College duo Kathy Baker and Cara Martin are paired together in the centre for the third week running, while MU Barnhall youngster Emma Brogan continues in the full-back position after stepping up for Robyn O’Connor, who remains on the injury list.

Katelynn Doran, another of the Barnhall contingent, comes in at blindside flanker for her first appearance of the campaign. The back row is completed by captain Molly Boyne, who has played every minute of the defending champions’ round robin fixtures, and Navan’s Rosie Searle.

Mullingar native Kelly Burke is joined in the front row by Aoife Moore and Katie Layde, while Wicklow’s Ciara Short, who gained experience with the Wolfhounds in the Celtic Challenge last season, will pack down alongside Clíodhna Ní Chonchobhair at lock.

Included on the bench, Short’s Wicklow team-mate Clara Dunne is set to become the 20th Leinster debutant of this year’s Championship. She played for the Ireland Under-18s last year, and represented the national U-20 side at last month’s Six Nations Summer Series in Wales.

Speaking ahead of the Interpro decider, Ben Martin said: “It’s been a hugely attritional four weeks and I suppose when you look back to the start of the campaign and us naming a wider squad, we had this in mind.

“We knew that we would need to have that depth to fall back on, and it was the reason we decided to carry an extended squad. Bumps and bruises will happen and now it’s up to the 23 selected this weekend to make their mark in front of a home crowd in Energia Park.

“To think that we will, potentially, have handed out 20 debuts by Saturday evening is also brilliant for the growth of the group but beyond that, for the growth of the game in the province.”

MUNSTER: Aoife Corey (UL Bohemian RFC); Alana McInerney (UL Bohemian RFC), Lucia Linn (UL Bohemian RFC), Caitríona Finn (UL Bohemian RFC), Lyndsay Clarke (Ennis RFC); Kate Flannery (UL Bohemian RFC), Eve Prendergast (Ballincollig RFC); Ciara McLoughlin (UL Bohemian RFC), Deirbhile Nic a Bháird (Old Belvedere RFC), Eilís Cahill (UL Bohemian RFC), Clodagh O’Halloran (UL Bohemian RFC), Claire Bennett (UL Bohemian RFC), Jane Clohessy (UL Bohemian RFC), Maeve Óg O’Leary (Blackrock College RFC) (capt), Chloe Pearse (UL Bohemian RFC).

Replacements: Gráinne Burke (UL Bohemian RFC), Emma Dunican (Tralee RFC), Brianna Heylmann (UL Bohemian RFC), Lily Morris (Ballincollig RFC), Sally Kelly (Ennis RFC), Meghan Crilly (Loughborough University), Abbie Salter-Townshend (UL Bohemian RFC), Annakate Cournane (Shannon RFC).

LEINSTER: Emma Brogan (MU Barnhall RFC); Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow RFC), Kathy Baker (Blackrock College RFC), Cara Martin (Blackrock College RFC), Maggie Boylan (Blackrock College RFC); Nikki Caughey (Railway Union RFC), Jade Gaffney (Old Belvedere RFC); Aoife Moore (Blackrock College RFC), Kelly Burke (MU Barnhall RFC), Katie Layde (Old Belvedere RFC), Clíodhna Ní Chonchobhair (Blackrock College RFC), Ciara Short (Wicklow RFC), Katelynn Doran (MU Barnhall RFC), Molly Boyne (Railway Union RFC) (capt), Rosie Searle (Navan RFC).

Replacements: Kara Mulcahy (Old Belvedere RFC), Hannah Wilson (Old Belvedere RFC), Clodagh Dunne (Old Belvedere RFC), Méabh Keegan (Railway Union RFC), Katie Whelan (Old Belvedere), Heidi Lyons (Naas RFC), Clara Dunne (Wicklow RFC), Katie Corrigan (Old Belvedere RFC).

Referee: Daniel Carson (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Henry Richmond, Chris Elliott (both IRFU)