Pressure is on for the Irish
IRELAND handled the return of Cliodna Moloney and the reinstatement of dropped co-captain Edel McMahon with reasonable PR success.
But it may all be for nought for a new coaching team who, opening with two Six Nations losses, have had their honeymoon period and will come under severe pressure should they fail against Wales in Cork later today.
Ireland are better than they were last year but need to register a win against what the bookies believe are the third best side in the competition, with a trip to Twickenham on the horizon.
Moloney’s return a fortnight ago provided a solid filip; her 31 carries in the Italy game registered her as the second-most carrying player in a tournament that has gone two rounds while there was a definite sense the team responded to her clearly dynamic leadership; the second-row leads from the front.
Excited
“We were told on Friday as a group and the squad’s reaction was excited,” says Ireland co-captain Sam Monaghan of Moloney’s return, the Galway girl’s exclusion dating to 2021 which was around the time she was highly visible in the squad ‘revolt’ against the IRFU.
“It’s great to have more depth in the squad, because that is what we’ve lacked before, that competitive edge in training. Training against and with, and that experience.
“We don’t have an abundance of experience in this team and that can be invaluable.
“There’s an excited aura amongst the group which is great, especially going into this week.”
IRELAND: Lauren Delany (Sale Sharks); Katie Corrigan (Old Belvedere), Eve Higgins (Railway Union), Enya Breen (Blackrock), Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock); Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere), Aoibheann Reilly (Blackrock); Linda Djougang (Old
Belvedere), Neve Jones (GloucesterHartpury), Christy Haney (Blackrock), Dorothy Wall (Blackrock), Sam Monaghan (Gloucester-Hartpury), Aoife Wafer (Blackrock), Edel McMahon (Exeter Chiefs), Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere); Subs; Clíodhna Moloney (Exeter Chiefs), Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere), Sadhbh McGrath (Cooke), Fiona Tuite (Old Belvedere), Shannon Ikahihifo (Ealing Trailfinders),
Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Leinster), Nicole Fowley (Galwegians), Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere).
WALES: Jenny Hesketh; Jasmine Joyce, Hannah Jones (capt), Kerin Lake, Carys Cox; Llecu George, Keira Bevan; Gwenllian Prys, Carys Phillips, Sisilia Tuipulotu, Abbie Fleming, Georgia Evans, Alisha Butchers, Alex Callender, Bethan Lewis; Subs;
Molly Reardon, Abbey Constable, Donna Rose, Natalia John, Gwennan Hopkins,
Sian Jones, Kayleigh Powell, Courtney Keight.
Referee: Sara Cox (RFU)