Ireland have named five uncapped players in an exciting squad of 35 for the upcoming Women's Six Nations Championship. After a long wait, the kick-off times for the Championship were confirmed by Six Nations Rugby. Ireland will start their campaign away to Wales at 5pm on April 10th.
The five new faces in the Ireland squad have all made the move from 7s having represented Ireland in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens tournament.
Stacey Flood, Eve Higgins, Emily Lane, Grace Moore and Murphy Crowe have transitioned from 7s to 15s and have been part of the training squad since the conclusion of the Six Nations Championship last October.
In terms of dynamism and excitement, the new additions to the squad bring a fresh sense of pace and game-changing ability.
"Yeah she has the speed but she has the passing, she has the game play, she has the communication..."@IrishRugby's Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe is box office. She's your @HSBC_Sport one to watch at the #Dubai7s #HSBC7s pic.twitter.com/BHOPQMymhJ
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) December 2, 2019
Tipperary’s Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe was a try-scoring machine at the HSBC World Rugby Sevens with her trademark celebration becoming a consistent sight. By far Ireland’s all-time top try scorer in the 7s format, give Murphy Crowe any space on the wing and she will be sure to cause defenders nightmares one-on-one. Bagging 98 tries in 131 World Series matches says it all.
Eve Higgins and Stacey Flood are joint second in the try scoring charts for the Ireland 7s team and are two more exciting additions to the Irish set-up. Twinkle-toes, creativity and awareness – it’s no surprise that have clearly impressed so much that they have been called-up to the squad so soon. Their direct running will be exciting to watch in the 15s format.
Eve Higgins in particular is one to watch. Outstanding work-rate matched with incredible balance and poise, Higgins has consistently been one of Ireland’s top performers on the 7s circuit.
The @IrishRugby Women’s 7s finish fourth at the HSBC Sydney 7’s. Ireland were defeated 26-12 after a valiant fight back!
Check out this incredible try from Eve Higgins, who at 19-years-old, is frighteningly good at splitting world-class defences! ??
?: WorldRugby Youtube pic.twitter.com/r38BeKMyTt— Her Sport (@HerSportDotIE) February 3, 2019
As well as this, Claire Boles and Emma Hooban were also added to the squad and are named for the upcoming tournament. Ireland will be without the experienced trio of Ciara Cooney, Edel McMahon and Grand Slam winner Larissa Muldoon as all three are unavailable due to injury.
The first game of the tournament for Ireland is in Wales on April 10th before returning back home to Energia Park where they will take on France.
The tournament concludes with a final round of games on April 24th determined by results over the first two rounds.
Ciara Griffin will captain the squad which also includes newcomers Katie O'Dwyer, Neve Jones and Brittany Hogan, who all made their debut against Italy last October.
Ireland head coach Adam Griggs commented: "It means a huge amount to us to have test rugby on the horizon. This group have been working very closely together over the past number of months and the Six Nations was always going to be a priority for us.
We have two more camps to fine tune things ahead of the first fixture and competition for match squad places will be high."
Ireland Squad (Women's Six Nations Championship 2021)
Player/Club/Province/Caps
Backs (16):
Enya Breen (UL Bohemian/ Munster) 4
Eimear Considine (UL Bohemian/ Munster) 15
Kathryn Dane (Old Belvedere/ Ulster) 10
Lauren Delany (Sale Sharks/ IQ Rugby) 12
Aoife Doyle (Railway Union/ Munster) 6
Katie Fitzhenry (Blackrock College/ Leinster) 13
Stacey Flood (Railway Union/Leinster) *
Eve Higgins (Railway Union/Leinster) *
Ailsa Hughes (Railway Union/ Leinster) 12
Emily Lane (Blackrock College/Munster) *
Ellen Murphy (Blackrock College/Leinster) 7
Amee Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union/Munster) *
Sene Naoupu (Old Belvedere/ Leinster) 38
Beibhinn Parsons (Ballinasloe/Blackrock College/ Connacht) 8
Laura Sheehan (Exeter Chiefs/IQ Rugby) 4
Hannah Tyrrell (Old Belvedere/ Leinster) 17
Forwards (19):
Claire Boles (Railway Union/Ulster) 3
Anna Caplice (Harlequins/ IQ Rugby) 14
Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere/ Leinster) 9
Laura Feely (Blackrock College/ Connacht) 15
Nichola Fryday (Blackrock College/ Connacht) 15
Ciara Griffin (UL Bohemian/ Munster) 33
Brittany Hogan (DCU/Old Belvedere/Ulster) 1
Emma Hooban (Blackrock College/Leinster) 7
Neve Jones (Malone/Ulster) 1
Leah Lyons (Harlequins/ IQ Rugby) 25
Aoife McDermott (Railway Union/ Leinster) 13
Claire Molloy (Wasps/IQ Rugby) 70
Cliodhna Moloney (Wasps/ IQ Rugby) 23
Grace Moore (Railway Union/IQ Rugby) *
Hannah O'Connor (Blackrock College/ Leinster) 2
Katie O'Dwyer (Railway Union/ Leinster) 1
Chloe Pearse (UL Bohemian/ Munster) 2
Lindsay Peat (Railway Union/ Leinster) 31
Dorothy Wall (Blackrock College/ Munster) 4
* Denotes uncapped at this level
Women’s Six Nations 2021 Fixtures
Wales v Ireland, Cardiff Arms Park, Saturday, April 10, 5pm
Ireland v France, Energia Parck, Saturday, April 17, 2:15pm
