VODAFONE IRELAND WXV SERIES:
Sunday, September 20 -
IRELAND v USA, Tallaght Stadium, kick-off 1.45pm (live on TG4 Player/Spórt TG4 YouTube channel/RTÉ Radio 1)
Team News: For Ireland's debut in Tallaght (kick-off 1.45pm), head coach Scott Bemand has made four changes in personnel to the team that started against Scotland four months ago.
Connacht starlet Jemima Adams Verling (20) will win her first Test cap at blindside flanker, alongside captain Erin King and Aoife Wafer, the two-time Guinness Women's Six Nations Player of the Championship.
Having starred for the Clovers and the Ireland Under-21s last season, this is another step in the progression of the Roscommon native who has come through Irish Rugby's player development pathway.
As Béibhinn Parsons is sidelined with a 'small knock', Wicklow's Vicky Elmes Kinlan comes into the back-line, occupying the left wing berth with Robyn O'Connor moving to the right.
Stacey Flood, Aoife Dalton, Eve Higgins, Dannah O'Brien, and Emily Lane, a recent Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship winner with Munster, provide a strong spine behind the scrum.
Niamh O'Dowd returns at loosehead prop, starting in place of Ellena Perry, who announced her retirement from club and international rugby in June.
Packing down with Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald and Linda Djougang, this will be O'Dowd's first start since the 2025 Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat to France.
Dorothy Wall takes over from the injured Sam Monaghan (Achilles) in the second row, pairing up with Fiona Tuite-O'Sullivan who helped Ulster to defeat Connacht on Interprovincial finals day.
Adams Verling, a proud product of Creggs RFC, will become Ireland's fourth new cap of 2026, following in the footsteps of Eilís Cahill, Katie Whelan, and young winger O'Connor.
Jane Clohessy, who won her only previous cap against Scotland last year, and Aoibheann Reilly - absent from the 2026 Six Nations due to a broken fibula - both return from injury to feature on the bench.
Neve Jones, Sadhbh McGrath, Cahill, and Brittany Hogan are the other forward replacements available to Bemand, with backs Anna McGann and Niamh Gallagher completing the matchday 23.
"You never try to go mass swaps in and mass swaps out, (because) basically everyone leaves a bit disappointed. So we're going to select pretty strong, but we're going to drip feed in over games," said Bemand.
"So, Jemima gets to go in the back row with two world-class operators (King and Wafer) inside of her. It gives her every chance to succeed, so that will be interesting.
"She has been grafting away, she's been part of the centralised programme here now for just under a year, and it's a bit of credence really, going, well, look what we can achieve with a player physically, technically, tactically."
He added: "We have shown that our performances are on the cusp of getting some quite significant victories.
"But we've got to do it from the front, and we've got to become reasonably un-Irish and do it as the favourites, I'd say. But that's all right.
"Learning to perform with that expectation is becoming a good tournament team. It is not all about world rankings, but I think we've closed the gap on what you would perceive as a top four, and we're going to start taking lumps out of that lot now."
Sunday's fixture - live on the TG4 Player and Spórt TG4 YouTube channel - is the first of three home matches for Ireland during this autumn international block.
The girls in green face Japan in the Vodafone Ireland WXV Series at Dexcom Stadium next Saturday, before a standalone Test against Japan at Virgin Media Park on Saturday, 3 October.
Match tickets are on general sale via Ticketmaster here.
Meanwhile, ranked eighth in the world (three places below Ireland), the USA arrive in Dublin having drawn their July series with South Africa, winning 26-19 last time out in Pretoria.
The WXV Global Series will round off Skerries man Jack Hanratty's first year in charge of the Women's Eagles, who are captained by Sale Sharks flanker Georgie Perris-Redding.
It is a new-look USA squad compared to the one that lined out against Ireland in WXV1 two years ago, when Bemand's side claimed a 26-14 victory in Vancouver.
Only six players that were on duty that day are involved this weekend, while there are starts for backs Abigail Paton, Kayla Canett, and Tessa Hann, who have 11 Test caps between them.
Leicester Tigers centre Emily Heinrich is by far their most experienced back in the starting XV with 25 international appearances. The 19-year-old Bella Vogel gets the nod at out-half.
Keia Mae Sagapolu-Senele and Rachel Ehrecke are both back from injury, joining a tight five that is led by veteran loosehead Hope Rogers, the most-capped Eagle of all-time.
Hanratty also welcomes back co-captain Erica Jarrell-Searcy as a bench option, and Life University's Nina Mason, a versatile young back, is poised to make her debut as a replacement.
IRELAND: Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC/Leinster); Robyn O'Connor (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC/Leinster), Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow RFC/Leinster); Dannah O'Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC/Munster); Niamh O'Dowd (Gloucester-Hartpury), Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald (Exeter Chiefs), Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Dorothy Wall (Exeter Chiefs), Fiona Tuite-O'Sullivan (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster), Jemima Adams Verling (Galwegians RFC/Connacht), Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) (capt), Aoife Wafer (Harlequins).
Replacements: Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury), Sadhbh McGrath (Cooke RFC/Ulster), Eilís Cahill (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Jane Clohessy (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Brittany Hogan (Sale Sharks), Aoibheann Reilly (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht), Anna McGann (Railway Union RFC/Connacht), Niamh Gallagher (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby).
USA: Kayla Canett (USA Sevens); Telesi Uhatafe (Southern Nazarene University), Tessa Hann (Denver Onyx), Emily Heinrich (Leicester Tigers/Boston Banshees), Erica Coulibaly (Denver Onyx); Bella Vogel (Life University), Abigail Paton (Otago Spirit/Matatū); Hope Rogers (Exeter Chiefs), Kathryn Treder (Loughborough Lightning/Bay Breakers), Keia Mae Sagapolu-Senele (ACT Brumbies), Hallie Taufoou (Loughborough Lightning), Rachel Ehrecke (Leicester Tigers/Colorado Grey Wolves), Hann Humphreys (USA Sevens), Georgie Perris-Redding (Sale Sharks) (co-capt), Freda Tafuna (Lindenwood University).
Replacements: Alivia Leatherman (Trailfinders Women/Twin Cities Gemini), Chloe Hill-Huse (Castaway Wanderers), Reece Woods (Sacred Heart University), Erica Jarrell-Searcy (Sale Sharks) (co-capt), Kapoina Bailey Denver Onyx), Kate Zackary (Trailfinders Women), Cassidy Bargell (Denver Onyx), Nina Mason (Life University).
Referee: Maggie Cogger-Orr (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Ella Goldsmith (Australia), Rebecca Piddlesden (England)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)
FPRO: Jenny Davies (Wales)
Pre-Match Quotes - Erin King (Ireland): "We are buzzing to go. It has been a few months now since we all last played together in that Aviva game, so yeah, there's a very good feeling around the squad. We're raring to go.
"We've seen the soccer girls come and play here (at Tallaght Stadium) and make it their own, and that is something that we're looking to do.
"We're really excited to play in a new venue. We talk about growing our Green Wave constantly, and getting to play in new venues is doing that.
"The USA are a really physical team. They have got some athletes out wide as well, and we played them two years ago and it was a really tough battle.
"So, it's not going to be an easy challenge, but we're really looking forward to it. It is a team that we don't often get to play, so we're always excited to play new opposition and get to change it up."
Jack Hanratty (USA): "We have had a great couple weeks here in Ireland. We've been really challenging ourselves against each other, and now we're excited to challenge other teams.
"We want to see what we can bring for every single game and challenge those teams that are near our world ranking , as well as how we end with such a big game against England.
"So we're excited that we got to start against a very in-form Irish team in Ireland - which will be such a big test - and then let us see the growth of how we perform and if we can be battle-ready by the time we get to play the World champions at home in New Jersey."
Pre-Match Links:
All You Need To Know: Ireland v USA In The Vodafone Ireland WXV Series
Bemand Backs Adams Verling To Make Impact On Ireland Debut
'USA Bring A Range Of Threats' - Moloney-MacDonald
Bemand Aiming To Build Depth And Experience Through Series
Monaghan To Miss Ireland's Autumn Campaign
In Pics: Ireland Training Ahead Of Vodafone Ireland WXV Series Opener
Recent Meetings -
2018: Autumn Test: Ireland 10 USA 19, Energia Park
2021: Autumn Test: Ireland 20 USA 10, RDS Arena
2024: WXV1: USA 14 Ireland 26, BC Place, Vancouver
Support Ireland on www.facebook.com/irishrugby, or search #IREvUSA and #TeamOfUs on www.twitter.com/irishrugby.
