Ireland face a massive task

Nichola Fryday (inset) will captain Ireland amateurs against the fully professional World Rugby 2021 Team of

Year England in the Six Nations at Welford Road tomorrow (12pm).

The Irish have travelled without their nine semi-pro Sevens players, who are at the World Rugby Sevens Series in Langford.

There are two uncapped players in the squad; Molly ScuffilMcCabe at full-back and reserve three-quarter Niamh Byrne.

Ireland will be watched by close to 20,000 English fans and the game being played in Leicester, the home of the ultimate sporting underdog, hasn’t been lost on coach Greg McWilliams.

“Cohesion is so massive in any sport and there have been some great studies done about Leicester City with cohesion being cited as a major factor contributing to their 2015/16 Premier success.

Hope

“We knew we were losing our Sevens players for this game but what gave us hope was we knew that very little of the forwards were departing.

“At the end of the day it is important to have as cohesive group of forwards and half-backs as consistent as possible in the team because they are the drivers.”

There was, however, the disappointment of losing influential second-row Sam Monaghan to injury.

“That wasn’t part of the plan but, in rugby, you have to take that as it comes. We have Aoife McDermott coming in to do a job and I have no worries about her ability, she’ll be fine.” Ireland Women: Molly Scuffil-McCabe; Aoife Doyle, Sene Naoupu, Enya Breen, Eimear Considine, Nicole Cronin, Kathryn Dane; Linda Djougang, Neve Jones, Christy Haney, Nichola Fryday capt, Aoife McDermott, Dorothy Wall, Edel McMahon, Hannah O’Connor; Subs: Emma Hooban, Chloe Pearse, Katie O’Dwyer, Grace Moore, Maeve Óg O’Leary, Aoibheann Reilly, Michelle Claffey, Niamh Byrne

england women’s six nations v ireland leicester, tomorrow, 12pm, bbc