Co-captain Edel McMahon and wing Béibhinn Parsons are among the names to drop out as Ireland head coach Scott Bemand makes seven changes to the starting side that beat Japan in last weekend’s Rugby World Cup opener.
Two of the new faces come into the backline, with Anna McGann replacing Parsons while Molly Scuffil-McCabe comes in for Aoibheann Reilly at scrumhalf. Both Parsons and Reilly drop out of the match-day 23.
In the forwards, Ellena Perry makes her first Ireland start at loosehead as last week’s incumbent Niamh O’Dowd has also been given the weekend off. Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald and Neve Jones swap places at hooker, with the latter starting and the former on the bench. Linda Djougang keeps her place at tighthead.
Sunday marks a significant occasion for Djougang as she wins her 50th cap. She will become the 15th woman to hit that mark for Ireland.
Lock Eimear Corri-Fallon and number eight Grace Moore both start having been among the replacements last time out. Ruth Campbell and round one’s player of the match, Brittany Hogan, move to the replacements. Claire Boles, not in the squad against Japan, comes in at openside flanker to replace McMahon.
As was reported in these pages on Thursday, Sam Monaghan takes sole ownership of the captaincy duties which she had been sharing with McMahon. Stacey Flood, Aoife Dalton, Eve Higgins, Amee-Leigh Costigan, Dannah O’Brien, Fiona Tuite, Djougang and Monaghan are the starters from last week who keep their place.
On the bench, Siobhán McCarthy provides loosehead cover as she is set to make her World Cup bow. Emily Lane also starts on the bench, in the 21 shirt, and Nancy McGillivray will wear 23.
Ireland’s joyous World Cup startOpinions on the degree of risk taken by Bemand in opting for such significant rotation will differ. While the usual noises about treating every opponent with respect came from camp during the week, Irish boots will hardly be quaking after watching Spain struggle against New Zealand in their tournament opener.
By making these changes, perhaps the Ireland boss is wisely mitigating against squad restlessness. After this weekend, 27 of the 32 players in camp will have seen World Cup game time. Dangle the carrot of a good performance here putting someone in the frame to take on the Black Ferns. Keep everyone interested.
Those who haven’t yet featured include Aoife Wafer, whose knee issue leaves her battling for any sort of participation at this competition. Uncapped Beth Buttimer and the inexperienced Ivana Kiripati also remain unused. The remaining pair, fullback Méabh Deely and outhalf Nicole Fowley, operate in positions where the jersey holders – Flood and O’Brien – are almost certain to play every minute they can, such is their importance to the team.
The identity of those who started last week but have dropped out of the 23 this time, compared to those who have merely dropped to the bench, might also offer a window into Bemand’s thinking. Japan marked McMahon’s first game since the end of the Six Nations due to injury. She didn’t take full part in training this week and wore a knee brace returning to the team hotel on Wednesday.
During the week, Ireland acknowledged that they were managing McMahon’s training load. Including the World Cup warm-up matches, Parsons has started three consecutive games in her return from a horrific injury run which included two leg breaks. With New Zealand on the horizon come Sunday week, giving a pair of important players a break seems prudent.
Or, given the impressive display of Parsons in particular against Japan, leaving out such pivotal players is a risk against any sort of opponent, even one which Ireland should beat comfortably. The Irish brains trust would no doubt point to their strength in depth in the back three. Anna McGann, Ireland’s starting right wing for much of the Six Nations, comes in for Parsons having found the try line five times this calendar year.
The other two players who started last week and are not in the match-day 23, scrumhalf Reilly and prop O’Dowd, do not have the same history of recent injuries. Granted, Bemand has shown his willingness to rotate at nine more so than any other position.
The other possible reading of this squad would focus on Ireland still not being 100 per cent sure of their best XV ahead of a likely pool decider against New Zealand in Brighton. While there may be an element of truth to this, Parsons, McMahon and Hogan are all nailed-on starters at this stage.
Jones has consistently been ranked above Moloney-MacDonald in the pecking order in recent times, even if there is little between the two at hooker. Perry could well offer an alternative at loosehead given her experience with England, but O’Dowd has been Ireland’s starter there for some time.
Barring one or two barnstorming performances, expect this squad to be an example of rotation, rather than a reframing of the hierarchy. Provided Ireland take care of business on Sunday – and especially so if they fall to an upset – one would suspect that the squad to play New Zealand will more closely resemble what we saw last week.
Ireland: Stacey Flood; Anna McGann, Aoife Dalton, Eve Higgins, Amee-Leigh Costigan; Dannah O’Brien, Molly Scuffil-McCabe; Ellena Perry, Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald, Linda Djougang; Eimear Corri-Fallon, Sam Monaghan (capt); Fiona Tuite, Claire Boles, Grace Moore. Replacements: Neve Jones, Siobhán McCarthy, Sadhbh McGrath, Ruth Campbell, Brittany Hogan, Emily Lane, Enya Breen, Nancy McGillivray.
Spain: Amalia Argudo; Claudia Perez Perez, Claudia Pena Hidalgo, Claudia Cano, Clara Piquero; Zahia Perez, Anne Fernandez de Corres; Gemma Silva Sierra, Marieta Roman Mallen, Eider Garcia Fuentes; Lourdes Alameda, Elena Martinez; Lia Pineiro, Ana Peralta Baquet, Valentina Lucia Perez Marquez. Replacements: Cristina Blanco Herrera, Laura Delgado, Mireia de Andres, Anna Puig, Monica Castelo, Nerea Garcia Rementeria, Ariadna Bingbing Vergara Piqueras, Lea Ducher.