Saturday Matches
Scotland v England, The Hive, Edinburgh, KO 14.15
Ireland v Cymru, Virgin Media Park (previously Musgrave Park), Cork, KO 16.45
Scotland
We already know the attendance at the Hive, it’s 7,774; in other words for the first time a full house. It looks as though the SRU will have to extend the capacity at this newish ground or look elsewhere.
Murrayfield is right next door.
A key decision by Bryan Easson is to return Chloe Rollie to the 15 shirt. At once we have visions of the English backs punting the ball deep into Scottish territory, knowing that Rollie will only rarely put boot to ball to counter. Her attacking flair is undoubted; the question is: how far from the line will she be able to start her thrusts? Her call-up means Meryl Smith resumes her centre partnership with Emma Orr, two of Scotland’s brightest hopes. In turn it means Lisa Thomson moves to the bench.
Lana Skeldon makes a welcome reappearance after suffering a knock to the knee against Wales. Her presence is vital to the cause.
England
The Red Rose squad was made known unusually early, three days before D-day.
John Mitchell said he would not rotate, but he has rotated: the captaincy passes from the centurion Marlie Packer to the half-centurion (and World Player of the Year 2022) Zoe Aldcroft. Apart from that, he is sticking to his word; there are few signs of trying out the newer squad members. Of the 23 only Maddie Feaunati remains a less familiar face. The uncapped remain uncapped, but Amy Cokayne makes a most welcome return after a long absence.
The result of this game will be significant; it will indicate how far the ‘chasers’ have succeeded in catching up with the leaders. Ireland’s performance against the French (17-38) was an indicator of what’s possible.
Teams
Scotland
15 Chloe Rollie 14 Rhona Lloyd 13 Emma Orr 12 Meryl Smith 11 Coreen Grant 10 Helen Nelson 9 Caity Mattinson 1 Leah Bartlett 2 Lana Skeldon 3 Christine Belisle 4 Emma Wassell 5 Louise McMillan 6 Rachel Malcolm (captain) 7 Alex Stewart 8 Evie Gallagher
16 Elis Martin 17 Molly Wright 18 Elliann Clarke 19 *Fiona McIntosh 20 Rachel McLachlan 21 Mairi McDonald 22 Lisa Thomson 23 Francesca McGhie
*uncapped
England
15 Ellie Kildunne 14 Abby Dow 13 Meg Jones 12 Tatyana Heard 11 Jess Breach 10 Holly Aitchison 9 Mo Hunt 1 Hannah Botterman 2 Amy Cokayne 3 Maud Muir 4 Rosie Galligan 5 Abbie Ward 6 Zoe Aldcroft (captain) 7 Sadia Kabeya 8 Alex Matthews
16 Connie Powell 17 Mackenzie Carson 18 Kelsey Clifford 19 Maddie Feaunati 20 Marlie Packer 21 Lucy Packer 22 Zoe Harrison 23 Sydney Gregson
Coverage: BBC One, iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app
Ireland v Cymru
It’s very simple: one team is going to win its first game of the season.
Wales went down to an expected loss to England, but their defeat by Scotland in Cardiff was a significant blow to their pride.
Ireland too lost away predictably to France, but put 17 points on them. They came within one score when losing at home to Italy (21-27).
The one clear difference between the sides is the new broom that has come into the Irish coaching-team; just how far they have progressed will be shown in Cork; this will be a quite fascinating battle.
So much depends on the result for both sides, well beyond marking a first victory in this year’s campaign.
Ireland
Scott Bemand has made a single change to his starting XV; it sees Edel McMahon resume as co- captain with Sam Monaghan. But the big news of the weekend is the belated return to the colours of Clíodhna Moloney after a gap of two years, heavy with hidden meaning. We are left wondering how many members of the IRFU board needed budging before the selection was made. Quite apart from anything else, Moloney’s inclusion adds much to the experience of the squad. Her 31 caps stand out, a measure of the player losses Ireland have suffered over the past two years. Neve Jones will be only too aware of the challenge coming her way from Moloney’s presence on the bench.
Shannon Ikahihifo, originally from New Zealand and snapped up by Giselle Mather for her new Trailfinders’ team, is in line for a first cap in the back row.
Cymru
Ioan Cunningham has made four changes, welcoming back Jas Joyce from injury and reinstating Keira Bevan at 9 to form a threatening half-back partnership with Lleucu George. Sisilia Tuipulotu starts again at tight-head, and 19-year-old Gwennan Hopkins gets her chance to launch her promising career at international level.
The Welsh went winless for many years in Ireland; then they exploited Ireland’s fruitless 2023 season to win 31-5. So much has altered since then; only the four losses the two teams have suffered show a similarity.
On the field, Cunningham will be looking for the accuracy needed to complete moves. Much will depend on Carys Phillips’ accuracy at the line-out, such a vital starting-point for attack in the modern game.
Teams
Ireland
15 Lauren Delany, 14 Katie Corrigan 13 Eve Higgins 12 Enya Breen 11 Béibhinn Parsons 10 Dannah O’Brien 9 Aoibheann Reilly 1 Linda Djougang 2 Neve Jones 3 Christy Haney 4 Dorothy Wall 5 Sam Monaghan (co-captain) 6 Aoife Wafer 7 Edel McMahon (co-captain) 8 Brittany Hogan
16 Clíodhna Moloney 17 Niamh O’Dowd 18 Sadhbh McGrath 19 Fiona Tuite 20 *Shannon Ikahihifo 21 Molly Scuffil-McCabe 22 Nicole Fowley 23 Aoife Dalton
*uncapped
Wales
15 Jenny Hesketh 14 Jasmine Joyce 13 Hannah Jones (captain) 12 Kerin Lake 11 Carys Cox 10 Lleucu George 9 Keira Bevan 1 Gwenllian Pyrs 2 Carys Phillips 3 Sisilia Tuipulotu 4 Abbie Fleming 5 Georgia Evans 6 Alisha Butchers 7 Alex Callender 8 Bethan Lewis
16 Molly Reardon 17 Abbey Constable 18 Donna Rose 19 Natalia John 20 *Gwennan Hopkins 21 Sian Jones 22 Kayleigh Powell 23 Courtney Keight
*uncapped
UK Coverage: BBC One, iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app
