It could be a St. Patrick’s Day to remember for the Ireland Women as they chase their second Grand Slam in five seasons. Friday’s title decider sees them come up against familiar foes England.
2017 WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Friday, March 17
IRELAND WOMEN (2nd) v ENGLAND WOMEN (1st), Donnybrook, 8pm (live RTÉ Two/www.rte.ie/live(island of Ireland only)/Sky Sports Mix/’Game On’ 2fm/Six Nations Facebook Live Stream)
Team News: Head coach Tom Tierney has confirmed the Ireland Women’s team, sponsored by Aon, to take on England in the Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam decider at Donnybrook on Friday.
The side for the final round showdown shows one change from last weekend’s 12-7 win over Wales, as scrum half Larissa Muldoon is back into the starting line-up from the bench.
The front row of Lindsay, Peat, Leah Lyons and Ailis Egan, who have contributed four tries between them during the tournament, will line out together for the fifth successive match. Behind them in the second row, Sophie Spence will again partner Marie Louise Reilly who is set to win her 50th Ireland cap on Friday night.
Flankers Ciara Griffin and Claire Molloy will pack down with number 8 and captain Paula Fitzpatrick in a dynamic back row for their sixth consecutive game.
Out-half Nora Stapleton, the player-of-the-match in Cardiff, is partnered by fellow Donegal native Muldoon at half-back, and the increasingly influential Jenny Murphy and Sene Naoupu continue as the starting centres.
Alison Miller, the scorer of a hat-trick of tries against England during the 2013 Grand Slam, and Hannah Tyrrell, who has touched down twice in her last two games, will form the back-three with skilful full-back Kim Flood.
Speaking ahead of the St. Patrick’s Day clash, Tierney said: “There’s a very strong spirit in this squad that’s been developing nicely over the last few months and, while the performances to date haven’t been as accurate or as clinical as we would have liked, we’ve ground out four wins in a row to set up a very big game this Friday in Donnybrook.
“England are arriving to Dublin on the back of a huge win against Scotland so their confidence will be high, and deservedly so. The have shown throughout the Championship that they can score tries from anywhere and they have a strong and skilful pack as well.
“From our point of view, we have a huge opportunity on St. Patrick’s Day and for us it’s about looking to rectify some of the areas of our game that we haven’t been happy with over the past few weeks and if we can make those small changes, then Friday’s game should be a great one.”
Team sponsors Aon will vacate their jersey sponsorship for Ireland’s final game of the 2017 Women’s Six Nations Championship for Inner City Helping Homeless, a charity fighting homelessness in Dublin since 2013. The match jerseys were presented to the Ireland players by Olympic sailing silver medallist Annalise Murphy (pictured below).
Meanwhile, England Women’s head coach Simon Middleton has also made just one change for the trip to Dublin. This is only the second head-to-head Grand Slam finale in the history of the tournament – France beat England at home in the 2004 decider.
Bristol winger Amy Wilson Hardy is the only change to the starting XV, with Laura Keates hoping to gain her 60th England cap off the bench in place of Sarah Bern. Lydia Thompson, who scored a hat-trick in England’s recent 63-0 win over Wales, moves to the bench.
Match Ticket Information: Limited tickets for the Under-20s & Women’s Donnybrook double header are available to buy online here.
IRELAND WOMEN: Kim Flood (Railway Union/Leinster); Hannah Tyrrell (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Jenny Murphy (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Sene Naoupu (Aylesford Bulls), Alison Miller (Old Belvedere/Connacht); Nora Stapleton (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Larissa Muldoon (Railway Union); Lindsay Peat (Railway Union/Leinster), Leah Lyons (Highfield/Munster), Ailis Egan (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Sophie Spence (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Marie Louise Reilly (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Ciara Griffin (UL Bohemians/Munster), Claire Molloy (Bristol/Connacht), Paula Fitzpatrick (St. Mary’s/Leinster) (capt).
Replacements: Ciara O’Connor (Galwegians/Connacht), Ilse van Staden (Cooke/Ulster), Ruth O’Reilly (Galwegians/Connacht), Ciara Cooney (Railway Union/Leinster), Nichola Fryday (Tullamore/Connacht), Mary Healy (Galwegians/Connacht), Nikki Caughey (Railway Union/Ulster), Mairead Coyne (Galwegians/Connacht).
ENGLAND WOMEN: Danielle Waterman (Bristol); Amy Wilson Hardy (Bristol), Emily Scarratt (Lichfield), Amber Reed (Bristol), Kay Wilson (Richmond); Emily Scott (Saracens), La Toya Mason (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks); Rochelle Clark (Worcester Valkyries), Amy Cokayne (Lichfield), Justine Lucas (Lichfield), Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), Harriet Millar-Mills (Lichfield), Alex Matthews (Richmond), Marlie Packer (Bristol), Sarah Hunter (Bristol) (capt).
Replacements: Vicky Fleetwood (Saracens), Vickii Cornborough (Aylesford Bulls), Laura Keates (Worcester Valkyries), Poppy Cleall (Bristol), Izzy Noel-Smith (Bristol), Bianca Blackburn (Worcester Valkyries), Rachael Burford (Aylesford Bulls), Lydia Thompson (Worcester Valkyries).
Referee: Alhambra Nievas (Spain)
Assistant Referees: Sean Gallagher, Paul Haycock (both Ireland)
Television Match Official: Neil Patterson (Scotland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Ireland Women to win: 4/1; Draw: 22/1; England Women to win: 1/6
Pre-Match Quotes – Nora Stapleton (Ireland Women): “It’s a cup final, it’s winner-takes-all. It’s nice to hear the public and supporters talking about it. Even your club-mates, you can hear them chatting about banners that they are making. They’re worried about getting tickets for the game, where they are sitting. etc.
“I’m just delighted that we are going to have that support because I think it’s about time that we get that buzz back. It’s nice to know that we have genuine fans out there who are very excited about coming to the game.
“Does it increase your performance? No, I would hope that we are already up there. I think what it can do, though, is create that bit of buzz and it’s the reaction you get from the crowd.”
Simon Middleton (England Women): “We have put ourselves in a position to realise our Six Nations ambitions of winning the Championship but we’re under no illusions of how difficult the task will be.
“Ireland have had a great competition so far, showing immense resilience to win four tough games. It promises to be a fantastic end to the tournament and we are confident that come Friday we will be as ready as we can to win our first Grand Slam in five years.”
Pre-Match Links –
In Touch: March Edition Out Now
Inside Pass – The Welsh Weekend
Get Ready For The Women’s Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour
Aon To Support Homeless Charity
Ireland Women Dethrone France In Donnybrook Thriller
Peat And Tyrrell Tries Set Up Grand Slam Decider For Ireland Women
Match Facts –
– This is only the second time in the history of the Women’s Six Nations that both sides are going for a Grand Slam in round 5. On the previous occasion, France beat England 13-12 in Bourg-en-Bresse to take the 2004 Grand Slam
– The Ireland Women have won the title twice in the past four years, 2013 with a Grand Slam beating Italy in round 5
– Ireland have won their last six Women’s Six Nations matches since losing 13-9 to England at Twickenham in round 3 last year
– The Ireland Women have played seven previous matches at Donnybrook with their only defeat there being to Wales in 2006
– The England Women have not won the Six Nations title since 2012 with their success that year being a third successive Grand Slam and a seventh successive title win
– England have had a chance of winning a Grand Slam on nine previous occasions in the Women’s Six Nations and only failed twice, both away to France in round 5, in 2004 and 2016. Five of those encounters have been against Ireland (2003, 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2012)
– The England Women have won their last five Test matches since losing to New Zealand at the Twickenham Stoop last November
– England have won their last three matches against Ireland since the girls in green’s 11-8 victory at Ashbourne in the 2015 Women’s Six Nations
– The England Women have never played at Donnybrook before
Recent Meetings –
2015: Women’s Six Nations: Ireland Women 11 England Women 8, Ashbourne RFC; Autumn Test: England Women 8 Ireland Women 3, Twickenham Stoop
2016: Women’s Six Nations: England Women 13 Ireland Women 9, Twickenham; Women’s November Series: Ireland Women 10 England Women 12, UCD Bowl
Support Ireland on www.irishrugby.ie/facebook or search #BringIt, #IREvENG and #ShouldertoShoulder on www.twitter.com/irishrugby.
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