Scott Bemand has named an almost identical line-up to their game against France last month.
Ireland follow up their rest week with back-to-back home games, with Bemand naming an almost unchanged fifteen. The only change comes in the midfield with Eve Higgins coming in for Nancy McGillivray. Higgins started the opening game against England before coming off the bench against Italy and France.
The squad includes a back three of Stacey Flood, Béibhinn Parsons and Robyn O’Connor, with Aoife Dalton joining Eve Higgins in midfield. At half-backs, Emily Lane and Dannah O’Brien are selected once again.
Irish team ahead of the Women’s Six Nations Rugby Championship match against France. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile
Up front, Ellena Perry, Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald and Linda Djougang start together once again this campaign, with Dorothy Wall and Fiona Tuite in at locks. Brittany Hogan, Captain Erin King and Aoife Wafer make up the back row.
Among the replacements, Bemand has named uncapped Niamh Gallagher following her impressive performances for the U21s in recent weeks in wins over Italy and England.
Ireland have lost two out of their three games so far, with their sole win coming against Italy, and will be hoping to finish the campaign on a high, and head coach Scott Bemand thinks they can do just that.
Forwards coach Alan O’Connor, left, and head coach Scott Bemand, right, during an Ireland Women Rugby training session. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile
‘So, for me, these next two games, starting with Wales, are big moments for us. Not just to beat Wales in Ireland… but to actually to put a performance out there, a performance that we can go, ‘yeah, actually we’re moving’, and a performance that people can get on the back of.’
‘We took a few days to recover. We’ve been able to have a couple of days training, the girls have bounced back, and we can see that in some of the performance data in terms of how quick people are moving.
‘A home Test match against Wales, they’re big, aren’t they? And we want to get that performance out there that really gets people talking about it.’
Ireland Women’s Team to face Wales
15. Stacey Flood
14. Béibhinn Parsons
13. Aoife Dalton
12. Eve Higgins
11. Robyn O’Connor
10. Dannah O’Brien
9. Emily Lane
1. Ellena Perry
2. Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald
3. Linda Djougang
4. Dorothy Wall
5. Fiona Tuite
6. Brittany Hogan
7. Erin King (captain)
8. Aoife Wafer
Replacements:
16. Neve Jones
17. Sadhbh McGrath
18. Eilís Cahill
19. Ruth Campbell
20. Sam Monaghan
21. Grace Moore
22. Katie Whelan
23. Niamh Gallagher