Women's Six Nations 2023: Ireland make five changes for France game after Wales loss
- Published
Fly-half Dannah O'Brien (right) will make her first Six Nations start after coming on as a replacement in last weekend's heavy defeat by Wales
Women's Six Nations: Ireland v France | |
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Venue: Musgrave Park, Cork Date: Saturday, 1 April Kick-off: 15:15 BST | |
Coverage: Watch live on BBC2 NI and iPlayer, text commentary and highlights on the BBC Sport website |
Ireland coach Greg McWilliams has made five changes from the heavy opening defeat by Wales for Saturday's Six Nations game against France in Cork.
Ulster's Vicky Irwin replaces injured centre Enya Breen with Dannah O'Brien in for Nicole Cronin at fly-half.
Christy Haney's inclusion sees Ulster youngster Sadhbh McGrath drop to the bench after her debut in Cardiff.
Grace Moore and Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird replace Maeve Og O'Leary and Brittany Hogan in the back row.
Cronin and Hogan are named in the Irish replacements who also include uncapped players Clara Nielson and Kathryn Buggy plus Connacht's Anna McGann, who has not featured for Ireland since last year's Six Nations.
Haney's inclusion in the front row sees Linda Djougang switch prop positions from tighthead to loosehead for the Musgrave Park contest.
Fly-half O'Brien will be making her first Six Nations start as she is paired at half-back with her Leinster team-mate Molly Scuffil-McCabe.
Centre Breen will miss the remainder of the Six Nations after suffering a knee injury in last weekend's 31-5 defeat in Cardiff.
Ireland went into the opener amid apparent optimism, but it proved a chastening day as the hosts' utterly dominant first half set up their victory.
"Last week was a disappointing start to the campaign for us but we turned the page quickly and were honest with ourselves," said Ireland coach McWilliams.
"We know this journey is going to take time and require patience, and we are working hard as a group to learn those lessons and make positive progress every time we step on the field."
Ireland: Deely; Doyle, Dalton, Irwin, Behan; O'Brien, Scuffil-McCabe; Djougang, Jones, Haney; Fryday (capt), Monaghan; Wall, Moore, Nic B Bhaird.
Replacements: Nielson, McGrath, Buggy, O'Connor, Hogan, Cronin, McGann, Delany.
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