{"id":453084,"date":"2026-05-17T06:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T06:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/453084\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T06:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T06:30:11","slug":"ireland-aim-to-finish-with-a-bang-on-record-breaking-day-in-dublin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/453084\/","title":{"rendered":"Ireland aim to finish with a bang on record-breaking day in Dublin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ireland v Scotland
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Sunday 17 May, 2.30pm<\/p>\n

Where can we watch it?<\/p>\n

This Women\u2019s Six Nations fifth round clash is live on Virgin Media One.<\/p>\n

Coverage starts at 2pm.<\/p>\n

The other two Six Nations games today \u2013 Wales v Italy at 12.15pm and France v England, the Grand Slam decider, at 4.45pm Irish time \u2013 are being shown on the\u00a0RT\u00c9 Player.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the new record?<\/p>\n

Ireland set a new home attendance record for a women\u2019s international when they hosted Italy in Galway last month, with 9,206 people at the Dexcom Stadium.<\/p>\n

But that record will have lasted only four weeks as it gets smashed today.<\/p>\n

The IRFU has sold 30,000 tickets for this clash with Scotland, the first standalone Ireland Women\u2019s game at the Aviva Stadium.<\/p>\n

It should be a memorable occasion, with every ex-Ireland 15s and 7s international invited to be in<\/a> attendance.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the team news?<\/p>\n

There have been minimal changes to both teams, with Ireland boss Scott Bemand making just one to his starting XV.<\/p>\n

\"sam-monaghan-walks-up-the-tunnel-with-ellena-perry\"
\n Sam Monaghan with Ellena Perry. Ben Brady \/ INPHO<\/p>\n

Ben Brady \/ INPHO \/ INPHO\n<\/p>\n

Ireland have had a good time of it on the injury front in this championship, meaning strong continuity in selection, with minimal changes from week to week, although Bemand said it has been pleasing to give debuts to Eil\u00eds Cahill, Robyn O\u2019Connor, and Niamh Gallagher.<\/p>\n

Sam Monaghan comes into the second row today, with Dorothy Wall shifting to the bench, while wing Vicky Elmes Kinlan is included on the bench as Ireland revert to a 5\/3 split of forwards and backs.<\/p>\n

\u201cSam\u2019s done a great job coming on and just sort of dialling up the impact,\u201d said Bemand. \u201cShe came on last week [against Wales], nicked two lineouts, got a bunch of carries, and was just like an Exocet missile that\u2019s seeking tackles.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoro\u2019s done some unbelievably good work, so Doro\u2019s going to bring that intensity that she showed at the very start of England, at the very start of France, and she\u2019ll just bring that on at some point, which hopefully lets us ramp the game up and elevate it.\u201d<\/p>\n

One player Ireland had hoped to use in this Six Nations was scrum-half Aoibheann Reilly, but she had a setback with her recovery from injury and hasn\u2019t featured.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would have been great to have seen Aoibheann play in this competition,\u201d said Bemand. \u201cBut she\u2019s a high enough performer, as soon as we get her back, I\u2019d like to think she\u2019d be in the mix for Lions come 12 months\u2019 time.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Scotland have made two changes to their starting team for today\u2019s clash.<\/p>\n

Emily Coubrough starts at number eight, while Sale Sharks wing Shona Campbell gets the nod in the number 11 shirt for the injury-depleted Scots.<\/p>\n

\"cardiff-wales-23rd-march-2024-evie-gallagher-makes-a-break-from-the-scrum-during-the-womens-six-nations-rugby-match-wales-versus-scotland-at-cardiff-park-arms-stadium-in-cardiff-wales-credit-s\"
\n Scotland have missed key back row Evie Gallagher. Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n

Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n

They have missed Evie Gallagher, the top-class Bristol back row, who was ruled out of this Six Nations due to injury, having been nominated for player of the championship last year along with Ireland\u2019s Aoife Wafer, who won that award. Loosehead prop Anne Young is another who missed out on the championship for the Scots.<\/p>\n

Along the way in this Six Nations, they have lost captain Rachel Malcolm,\u00a0Emma Orr, Evie Wills, Rachel McLachlan,\u00a0Hannah Walker, and hooker Lana Skeldon to campaign-ending injuries.<\/p>\n

How\u2019s the form?<\/p>\n

Ireland are coming off the back of a bonus-point win against Wales in Belfast last weekend. It\u2019s a result that can\u2019t be sneered at, but King and co. weren\u2019t completely satisfied with their performance.<\/p>\n

The Welsh battled for everything and spoiled the Irish breakdown repeatedly, meaning it was a stop-start affair.<\/p>\n

But Ireland were the better side, led from the front as ever by number eight Wafer as she scored two tries, set up one beautifully, and generally dominated physically. Blindside flanker Brittany Hogan was similarly abrasive as she scored a brace of tries herself.<\/p>\n

The feeling from Ireland\u2019s side is that they still have their best performance of the championship to come. They were disappointed to lose away to England and France, especially the game in Clermont-Ferrand when they missed lots of close-range chances. They\u2019re looking for more of their first-half showing against Italy when they ran in seven tries in Galway.<\/p>\n

The Scots have had a tough time in head coach\u00a0Sione Fukofuka\u2019s first campaign in charge, although it started in bright fashion with an away win against Wales.<\/p>\n

They were hammered 84-7 by England the following weekend, were well beaten by Italy on a 41-14 scoreline in round three, and then suffered a 69-28 loss to France at home last weekend.<\/p>\n

\"denis-fogarty-shares-a-joke-with-linda-djougang\"
\n Ireland assistant Denis Fogarty with Linda Djougang. Ben Brady \/ INPHO<\/p>\n

Ben Brady \/ INPHO \/ INPHO\n<\/p>\n

The injuries haven\u2019t helped but Scotland will need to improve notably if they\u2019re to repeat last year\u2019s 26-19 Six Nations win against Ireland, which they clinched with a last-gasp try.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, yeah, I remember that one,\u201d said Bemand with a rueful smile this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got better during the competition. I watched the game against France and it\u2019s a reasonable score on the French side, but they made the French work for each try.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey look like they\u2019re well organised, so they\u2019ll take some breaking down.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to have to get physical, we\u2019re going to have to get carry dominance. We\u2019re going to have to create the opportunities rather than have opportunities present themselves early in phases.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s all right with us. We understand the challenge, we\u2019ve just got to do it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n

This is the final round of the Six Nations, and it is a shame that Ireland aren\u2019t still fighting for the title or a Triple Crown, but there is a trophy on the line today.<\/p>\n

The victors today will claim the new Siobhan Cattigan Trophy, named after the Scotland international who died in 2021 at the age of just 26.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"siobhan-cattigan\"
\n Siobhan Cattigan will be honoured. Andrew Fosker \/ INPHO<\/p>\n

Andrew Fosker \/ INPHO \/ INPHO\n<\/p>\n

Beyond this weekend, Ireland don\u2019t have a publicly announced fixture in 2026 yet.<\/p>\n

However, World Rugby has confirmed that the WXV Global Series will launch this year and be played in the September\/October window.<\/p>\n

The series will involve a \u201chome-and-away, cross-regional touring model,\u201d with Ireland included in the top tier along with the other Six Nations teams, as well as Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, and the USA.<\/p>\n

The first-ever British and Irish Lions Women\u2019s tour to New Zealand in 2027 is beginning to loom, with many Irish players aiming to be part of that, while the 2029 World Cup in Australia will be a key part of Ireland\u2019s longer-term planning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ireland v ScotlandAviva Stadium, DublinSunday 17 May, 2.30pm Where can we watch it? This Women\u2019s Six Nations fifth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6573,61,60,68188,151300,43,13304,9036,15551],"class_list":["post-453084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-aviva","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-ireland-women","tag-landmark","tag-news","tag-record","tag-scotland","tag-six-nations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}