Ireland and Wales are the first teams into battle in the 2023 TikTok Women’s Six Nations. An exciting Irish squad includes three Championship newcomers in the back-line and two uncapped props.
2023 TIKTOK WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP:
Saturday, March 25 –
WALES WOMEN v IRELAND WOMEN, Cardiff Arms Park, 2.15pm (live RTÉ 2/RTÉ Player/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC One Wales/BBC iPlayer/BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra)
Team News: Ireland’s head coach Greg McWilliams and captain Nichola Fryday begin their second Six Nations campaign at the helm, with some new combinations dotted across the selected side.
18-year-old Ulster prop Sadhbh McGrath wins her first cap at loosehead having impressed McWilliams and the Ireland coaching team during the recent Celtic Challenge competition, while Leinster’s Niamh O’Dowd is also in line for her debut cap off the bench.
The Ireland back-line contains a potent blend of youth and experience, with the likes of Méabh Deely (pictured below), Aoife Dalton and Natasja Behan – who all made their debuts during last summer’s historic tour of Japan – set to make their first Six Nations appearances.
Deely, Behan and Aoife Doyle make up the back-three, and Offaly native Dalton is joined by the experienced Enya Breen in the centre. Nicole Cronin and Molly Scuffil-McCabe line out together at half-back, with Dannah O’Brien and Vicky Irwin the replacement backs.
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Up front, new cap McGrath packs down alongside Neve Jones and Linda Djougang, supported by Fryday and Sam Monaghan from the second row.
Dorothy Wall, Maeve Óg O’Leary and Brittany Hogan make up the back row combination, and the uncapped O’Dowd, Deirbhile Nic a Bháird, Christy Haney, Jo Brown, Grace Moore and Hannah O’Connor give McWilliams strong options from the bench.
In other squad news, Edel McMahon and Aoife Wafer have been unfortunately ruled out of the Championship through injury.
“The start of a Championship campaign is always an exciting time and we come into this weekend ready to get to task against a strong Welsh side,” commented McWilliams.
“We have had a good block of preparation and this is the start of the next chapter on our journey, which we started as a group in Japan last summer.”
Meanwhile, centre Hannah Jones will captain the Wales team, as she did during the recent Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. She pairs up with her Gloucester-Hartpury club-mate Kerin Lake in midfield.
Swansea-born and Auckland-raised back rower Kate Williams will make her debut off the bench. She joined up with Ioan Cunningham’s squad at the World Cup and has now moved to Wales to fulfil her international ambitions.
Bristol Bears duo Elinor Snowsill and Keira Bevan combine again at half-back, while the back-three has Courtney Keight at full-back and Lisa Neumann, a starter in last year’s 27-19 win over Ireland at the RDS, and Carys Williams-Morris on the wings.
Sisilia Tuipulotu, who made her Wales debut off the bench in that Dublin game, packs down with Gwenllian Pyrs and Kelsey Jones in the front row. The promising 19-year-old gets her first start having converted from lock to prop.
Abbie Fleming and Gwen Crabb form the second row pairing, and Georgia Evans from Saracens, Alex Callander and Bethan Lewis link up together in the loose frowards. Knee injuries have sidelined Alisha Butchers and Donna Rose for the tournament.
TikTok Women’s Six Nations Fixtures
TikTok Women’s Six Nations Table
WALES WOMEN: Courtney Keight (Bristol Bears); Lisa Neumann (Gloucester-Hartpury), Hannah Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury) (capt), Kerin Lake (Gloucester-Hartpury), Carys Williams-Morris (Loughborough Lightning); Elinor Snowsill (Bristol Bears), Keira Bevan (Bristol Bears); Gwenllian Pyrs (Bristol Bears), Kelsey Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury), Sisilia Tuipulotu (Gloucester-Hartpury), Abbie Fleming (Exeter Chiefs), Gwen Crabb (Gloucester-Hartpury), Georgia Evans (Saracens), Alex Callender (University of Worcester Warriors), Bethan Lewis (Gloucester-Hartpury).
Replacements: Kat Evans (Saracens), Caryl Thomas (University of Worcester Warriors), Cerys Hale (Gloucester-Hartpury), Kate Williams (Unattached), Sioned Harries (University of Worcester Warriors), Ffion Lewis (University of Worcester Warriors), Lleucu George (Gloucester-Hartpury), Hannah Bluck (University of Worcester Warriors).
IRELAND WOMEN: Méabh Deely (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht); Aoife Doyle (Railway Union RFC/Munster), Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Enya Breen (Blackrock College RFC/Munster), Natasja Behan (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster); Nicole Cronin (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Railway Union RFC/Leinster); Sadhbh McGrath (City of Derry RFC/Cooke RFC/Ulster), Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury/Ulster), Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Nichola Fryday (Exeter Chiefs/Connacht) (capt), Sam Monaghan (Gloucester-Hartpury/IQ Rugby), Dorothy Wall (Blackrock College RFC/Munster), Maeve Óg O’Leary (Blackrock College RFC/Munster), Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster).
Replacements: Deirbhile Nic a Bháird (Old Belvedere RFC/Munster), Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Christy Haney (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), Jo Brown (University of Worcester Warriors/IQ Rugby), Grace Moore (Saracens/IQ Rugby), Hannah O’Connor (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Vicky Irwin (Sale Sharks/Ulster).
Referee: Amber McLachlan (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Doriane Domenjo (France), Maria Latos (Germany)
Television Match Official: Ian Tempest (England)
Watch
The game is live on RTÉ 2 and the RTÉ Player in the Republic of Ireland, while viewers in Northern Ireland/the UK can watch it live on the BBC iPlayer.
Pre-Match Quotes – Maeve Óg O’Leary (Ireland Women): “We’re a young squad and have some experienced girls, but coming through the years I fully believe in this group that there is something really special brewing.
“I just can’t wait for us to be able to go and play together and develop. Compared to last year, coming into the Six Nations last year we had a whole new coaching staff, so we’re already ahead of where we were last year.
“We know our shape, whereas last year we nearly had to create it. I think, having players able to be centralised, and be in and around the environment…there’s lots of girls in who might not have got their cap yet, but being in the environment is like the first step.
“I think that having people in, whether they’re capped or not, is already hugely helpful, and it gets them ready for when they do get onto the pitch.”
Ioan Cunningham (Wales Women): “We know Ireland will pose a formidable challenge but we finished third in last season’s Six Nations and want to improve on that. As a team, we know we can create opportunities and we just need to finish them off and score more tries.
“The squad have worked really hard and we have prepared really well, and we’re looking to make a positive start at Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday.
“Overall, we have looked for settled combinations and partnerships and the focus has been very much on selecting a side to face Ireland.
“We want to back up what we achieved last year but we also feel we should have won three games last season. So we want to build on last year and starting at home is real positive for us.
“We want to start well and to give our supporters something to cheer, inspire the next generation of players and build some real momentum for the rest of the campaign.”
Opta Facts – Wales Women v Ireland Women:
– Ireland have won nine of their last 11 TikTok Women’s Six Nations matches against Wales (L2), however Wales won the most recent meeting between the sides at the start of the 2022 Championship (27-19)
– Ireland have won four of their last five away games against Wales in the Women’s Six Nations, including a 45-0 victory in their most recent such match, Ireland’s third biggest win in the Championship and their biggest against Wales
– Ireland have lost five of their last six away games in the Women’s Six Nations (W1), however their only victory on the road during that run came against Wales in 2021
– Wales have won their opening game of the Women’s Six Nations in just one of their last four campaigns, yet that lone win came in their most recent round 1 fixture, against Ireland last year (27-19)
– Wales scored 69 points in their Women’s Six Nations campaign in 2022, one more than Ireland and their most in an edition of the Championship since scoring 94, their most ever, back in 2009
– Wales scored 67% (8/12) of their tries in the final quarter of matches in the 2022 edition of the Women’s Six Nations, the highest ratio of any team, with only England (15) scoring more in that period overall. Meanwhile, Ireland scored the highest ratio of tries in the 20-minute period after half-time (36%, 4/11)
– Ireland made 34 dominant tackles in the Women’s Six Nations last year, no other side made 30-plus, while Wales made the fewest (10). Only Italy (846) made more tackles overall than Ireland in 2022 (786)
– Ireland and Wales were shown the most cards in the 2022 Women’s Six Nations (4 each), with Wales receiving the most yellow cards in total (4) and Ireland being the only team to be shown a red card (1, also three yellows)
– Wales’ Gwen Crabb had 25 lineout takes in the Women’s Six Nations last year, more than any other player, including two steals on the opposition throw
– Ireland’s Edel McMahon made the most tackles of any player in the Women’s Six Nations last year (88), while her team-mates, Neve Jones (8), Linda Djougang (6), and Dorothy Wall (6), were the only players to make more than four dominant tackles during the 2022 Championship
Recent Meetings –
2020: Women’s Six Nations: Ireland Women 31 Wales Women 12, Energia Park
2021: Women’s Six Nations: Wales Women 0 Ireland Women 45, Cardiff Arms Park
2022: TikTok Women’s Six Nations: Ireland Women 19 Wales Women 27, the RDS
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Source: Irish Rugby