Neve Jones and Sam Monaghan will captain the Ireland Women when they take on Canada at the home of Ulster Rugby ©INPHO/Ben Brady
Ireland head coach Scott Bemand believes the visit of Canada to Belfast is ‘really well placed to tee us up for the Rugby World Cup‘, as the girls in green play their final warm-up match before the start of the tournament.
Saturday, August 9 –
IRELAND WOMEN v CANADA WOMEN, Affidea Stadium, 12pm (live irishrugby+/BBC Two NI & BBC iPlayer/RugbyPass TV)
Tickets for Ireland’s clash with Canada are on sale here.
Team News: For Ireland’s last run-out before the World Cup in two weeks’ time, Scott Bemand has made 10 changes to the team that started last weekend’s 27-21 win over Scotland. Neve Jones will co-captain the side with Sam Monaghan, who will have a bench role.
One of the debutants in Cork, Ivana Kiripati retains her place in an unchanged back row alongside Grace Moore, the player-of-the-match against the Scots, and Ulster’s own Brittany Hogan, at number 8.
The 22-year-old Ruth Campbell will pack down with her Old Belvedere club-mate Fiona Tuite in the engine room, supporting a front row of Niamh O’Dowd, Jones, and Linda Djougang, who is just three games away from reaching a half-century of caps.
Ballinasloe native Aoibheann Reilly slots back in at scrum half for her first start since the Six Nations defeat to England. Dannah O’Brien and Enya Breen will be outside her, with the latter partnered in the centre by Aoife Dalton, the Rugby Players Ireland Players’ Player of the Year.
Stacey Flood, who will make her 20th Test appearance, and Anna McGann come into the back-three, reuniting with Béibhinn Parsons who had a successful return from long-term injury last Saturday, getting the full 80 minutes under her belt.
Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald, debutant Ellena Perry (pictured below), Sadhbh McGrath, Eimear Corri Fallon, Monaghan, and Claire Boles are the forward options on a strong replacements bench, with backs Emily Lane and Eve Higgins completing Ireland’s 23.
Gloucester-Hartpury prop Perry, who is Irish-qualified through her maternal grandfather, previously won 11 caps for England. She was last capped in 2020 and is eligible for Ireland under World Rugby regulations.
Looking forward to facing second-ranked Canada, Bemand said: “Having another opportunity to test ourselves is essential in the run-up to the Rugby World Cup, and we know Canada will provide us with a really strong test.
“Last week we fought back hard from conceding early tries, and we know we will need to start stronger this week. There is a lot at stake with the squad for the Rugby World Cup being announced early next week.”
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Meanwhile, Canada head coach Kevin Rouet has made three changes to the team that defeated the USA 42-10 last week in Ottawa in front of a record crowd of 11,453.
Caroline Crossley, who started the Canadians’ 21-8 WXV1 victory over Ireland last year, comes into the back row, replacing Gabrielle Senft, with Stade Bordelais’ Fabiola Forteza shifting to the number 8 position.
Justine Pelletier, who came off the bench against the USA, will start at scrum half, while Olivia Apps – one of the Paris Olympians involved like Crossley – reverts to the replacements bench.
Saracens’ Alysha Corrigan returns to the starting line-up on the right wing, for her first appearance since Canada’s 50-20 triumph over South Africa in Pretoria in early July.
Also included in the matchday squad is replacement back Sarah-Maude Lachance, who last featured when she came off the bench to score a late try in May’s Pacific Four Series opener against USA in Kansas City.
“The World Cup is right around the corner, so this last warm up game in Belfast is going to very important for the team,” said Rouet, who was appointed to the head coach role in March 2022.
“We have been building for the last three years so I know we are ready for the World Cup, but this game against Ireland is one last opportunity to focus on the details of our game and system to make sure we are as prepared as possible for the World Cup.
“Ireland will be a tough opponent, they showed that to us last year at WXV, so we have to be ready for the challenge on Saturday. They are a top five team in the world.”
IRELAND: Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC/Leinster); Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht), Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Enya Breen (Blackrock College RFC/Munster), Anna McGann (Railway Union RFC); Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Aoibheann Reilly (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht); Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury) (co-capt), Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Ruth Campbell (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Fiona Tuite (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster), Grace Moore (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby), Ivana Kiripati (Creggs RFC/Connacht), Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster).
Replacements: Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald (Exeter Chiefs), Ellena Perry (Gloucester-Hartpury/IQ Rugby), Sadhbh McGrath (Cooke RFC/Ulster), Eimear Corri Fallon (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), Sam Monaghan (Gloucester-Hartpury/IQ Rugby) (c0-capt), Claire Boles (Railway Union RFC/Ulster), Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC), Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC).
CANADA: Julia Schell (Guelph Goats/Castaway Wanderers/Trailfinders Women); Alysha Corrigan (CRFC/Saracens), Florence Symonds (University of British Columbia), Alex Tessier (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC/Exeter Chiefs), Paige Farries (Saracens); Claire Gallagher (Aurora Barbarians/Leicester Tigers), Justine Pelletier (Club de rugby de Québec/Stade Bordelais); McKinley Hunt (Aurora Barbarians/Saracens), Gillian Boag (Capilano RFC), DaLeaka Menin (Calgary Hornets/Exeter Chiefs), Sophie de Goede (Castaway Wanderers/Saracens), Tyson Beukeboom (Cowichan Piggies/Aurora Barbarians/Trailfinders Women), Karen Paquin (Club de rugby de Québec), Caroline Crossley (Castaway Wanderers), Fabiola Forteza (Club de rugby de Québec/Stade Bordelais).
Replacements: Emily Tuttosi (Calgary Hornets/Exeter Chiefs), Brittany Kassil (Guelph Goats), Olivia DeMerchant (Halifax Tars RFC), Courtney O’Donnell (Red Deer Titans Rugby), Pamphinette Buisa (Ottawa Irish), Olivia Apps (Lindsay RFC), Shoshanah Seumanutafa (Counties Manukau), Sarah-Maude Lachance (Club de rugby de Québec/Stade Bordelais).
Referee: Aurélie Groizeleau (FFR)
Assistant Referees: Lauren Jenner (FIR), Berenice Loubet (FFR)
Television Match Official: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)
Pre-Match Quotes: Neve Jones (Ireland) –
It’s really exciting to captain the starting team. To be up in Ulster makes it even more exciting, and I can’t wait for Saturday to roll around. What an occasion, the more people we can get down to support us in our last warm-up game would be incredible.
“We came together again on Monday, and we looked at how Scotland went, fixed a few mistakes, and we’re ready to fire at the weekend. The lucky people that get to pull on the green jersey on Saturday, we back each other through and through.
“Canada are a quality side and (having played them in WXV1 last year) we know they have all sorts of threats around the park, but we’ve had a look at them, we’ve had a look at us, and we’re ready to go.”
Brittany Hogan (Ireland) –
We’re under no illusion that this is going to be a hard match. We are going to have to earn every single inch that we play against them. Canada are a very physically dominant team, but we just have to match it.
“Definitely, we were very frustrated after that game (losing 21-8 to Canada in Langley last October), and that goes to show the growth of the group as well. Like, being really frustrated about losing, not pretty narrowly, but it was quite a tight score as well.
“They only scored whenever we were down to 13 players, and it was a very frustrating end to the game. We felt like we left a lot of scores and a lot of things out there. So, we’re hoping to show what we can do against them this weekend.”
Previous Meetings –
2002: Rugby World Cup Pool D: Canada 57 Ireland 0, Estadi de Palau, Girona, Spain
2006: Canada Tour: Ireland 15 Canada 8, the Sportsground
2016: November Series: Ireland 7 Canada 48, UCD Bowl
2024: WX1: Canada 21 Ireland 8, Langley Events Centre, Langley
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