In contrast to the England-New Zealand match, two English head coaches announced their teams for the fascinating clash between Ireland and Australia next Saturday.
They are:
Ireland:
15. Eimear Considine, 14. *Vicky Elmes Kinlan, 13. Aoife Dalton, 12. Enya Breen, 11. Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, 10. Dannah O’Brien, 9. Molly Scuffil-McCabe, 1. Niamh O’Dowd, 2. Neve Jones,
3. Linda Djougang, 4. Dorothy Wall, 5. *Ruth Campbell, 6. Aoife Wafer, 7. Edel McMahon (captain), 8. Brittany Hogan
16. Clíodhna Moloney, 17. *Siobhán McCarthy, 18. Christy Haney, 19. Fiona Tuite, 20. *Erin King,
21. Emily Lane, 22. Eve Higgins, 23. Stacey Flood
*uncapped
Australia:
15. Lori Cramer, 14. Maya Stewart, 13. Georgina Friedrichs, 12. Cecilia Smith, 11. Desiree Miller, 10. Faitala Moleka, 9. Natalie Wright, 1. Bridie O’Gorman, 2. Ashley Marsters, 3. Eva Karpani, 4. Kaitlan Leaney, 5. Michaela Leonard, 6. Siokapesi Palu (captain), 7. Leilani Nathan, 8. Tabua Tuinakauvadra,
16. Tiarna Molloy, 17. *Alapeta Ngauamo, 18. Lydia Kavoa, 19. *Tiarah Minns, 20. *Lucy Dinnen,
21. Layne Morgan, 22. Arabella McKenzie, 23. Biola Dawa
*uncapped
Ireland
Scott Bemand has suffered long-term losses to injury of first-choices players, most notably Beibhinn Parsons and Sam Monaghan. An indicator of Ireland’s progress will be the impact the two starters, Vicky Elmes Kinlan (wing) and Ruth Campbell (lock), and the two replacements, Siobhán McCarthy and Erin King, can make.
The team is reinforced by the return of Sevens players who went to the Paris Olympics (Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Stacey Flood, Eve Higgins, King, Elmes Kinlan and Emily Lane). That is a long list which reveals both strengths and weaknesses. They will all be fit and eager to go at pace, but coming to terms with the challenges of the 15s format is another matter entirely. It shows too how dependent Ireland still is on players switching codes.
In the absence of Monaghan, McMahon becomes the full-time captain. Eimear Considine and Murphy Crowe make their first appearance for two years.
Bemand has to set store by performances in the Interpros and the Summer Series. This match will help reveal the standards those tournaments reach.
Australia
One big decision by Jo Yapp is to offer the captaincy to Siokapesi Palu. The argument is that she wants to widen the role of on-field responsibility, so Michaela Leonard hands the armband over. This policy runs counter to the popular choice of co-captains (The Black Ferns retain it).
Ash Marsters returns from the back row to hooker, replacing the injured Tania Naden. It’s a position she has held many times before. But Yapp can’t avoid taking calculated risks, just like Bemand. Bridie O’Gorman has to switch sides in the front row, following the injury to Brianna Hoy (another to suffer the dreaded ACL injury). The Wallaroos put out a new combo in the back row and at half-back, so there will be a lot to prove before they fly south to take part in WXV2.
At least that competition will give them the chance to sort themselves out across three tests, the sort of series they all too rarely enjoy.
Ireland, on the other hand, know they need to sort out all the potential pinch-points as soon as possible. They face the challenge of meeting Canada, New Zealand and USA in WXV1 this month.
Seconds Out!
So the two teams have a lot in common. Their combined experience in caps is similar. They both have new faces on board, though Ireland need fewer changes of position.
This is a rare meeting for the two nations, and all the more welcome for that.
Details:
Date: 14 September
KO: 14.30 (BST)
Venue: Kingspan Stadium, Belfast
