This week in the Tiktok Women’s Six Nations, Ireland will be gearing up to face table leaders England in the latest round of the tournament. Ireland currently sit in 4th place within one win from three. England on the other hand are table toppers having won all their games by 52 or more points.
On the Her Sport Six Nations brought to you by Opel Ireland, former Irish rugby star Hannah Tyrrell and rugby journalist Jess Hayden dove into what we can expect from this Sunday’s clash.
With a stadium capacity of 23,000, this weekend’s match could be set for a new world record for the highest attendance at a women’s international rugby match ever. The current record is 17,740 with already over 15,000 tickets sold so far.
Speaking on this, Jess Hayden stated ‘’I think the appetite for women’s sport is really growing and the fact that England aren’t just playing in Twickenham, and moving around the country the last few years is brilliant, to build these areas of fanbases around the country.
Introducing your Ireland Match Day Squad to face England in Sunday's #TikTokW6N clash at Welford Road! 💪#NothingLikeIt | #ENGvIRE
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) April 22, 2022
Head Coach Greg McWilliams has named his starting XV with Molly Scuffil-McCabe making her debut at full-back. 24-year-old Scuffil-McCabe joins Aoife Doyle and Eimear Considine in Ireland's back three, with the experienced Sene Naoupu returning to the green jersey in midfield alongside Enya Breen.
Ireland’s hand has been forced to rotate as injuries and prior commitments with the Irish 7s squad means the likes of Stacey Flood, Eve Higgins, Beibhinn Parsons, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Aoife Wafter and Britney Hogan are unavailable..
With that said, Mc Williams, has the chance to give game time to those who have not yet had the chance to prove themselves in the green jersey.
Hannah Tyrrell explained ‘’with every game that passes there’s always opportunities there for other players to come in and stake a claim for that jersey and they’ll be chomping at the bit and ready to go, hoping to put in a big performance against England. There’s definitely pros and cons when you look at it that way so hopefully we can add some experience and depth to our squad and that can help build for the future.’’
Hannah added ‘’what I’m hoping is that they don’t succumb to that pressure and they start to play their own game and don’t be forced into playing rugby that they don’t want to play or that they are not comfortable with just because England are trying to force them into that, I just hope that it’s a really good performance and we can maybe see some new players really step up and shine and that we can get them that experience, get them that squad depth and really start to look to the future.’’
England vs Ireland will take place on Sunday 24th April at 12pm in Mattioli Woods Welford Road, Leicester. The game will be available for viewing on RTE and Virgin Media.
Over 15,000 tickets have already been sold for #ENGvIRE 🙌
We're all set for another new #RedRoses home attendance record, but there are still tickets available to join us on Sunday at the home of the @LeicesterTigers 🎟️👇— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) April 21, 2022
