Kilmihil’s Eimear Considine is in line to make her debut for the Irish women’s rugby team as their 6 Nations bid commences this evening.
Considine is named on the bench as Tom Tierney’s outfit take on Scotland in this evening’s opener. It is expected that she will feature at some stage in the second half and if she does, Eimear will collect her first international cap.
A former dual-player for her county, the twenty five year old has only taken up the sport in recent years. In the intervening period, she has gone on to represent Irish Sevens team who came up short in their attempts to secure Rio 2016 Olympic qualification. Tierney was impressed with the Clare woman following recent displays for Munster.
Elsewhere, Clonlara’s John Foley has been left out of the Irish U20 squad for their opening game of the 6 Nations which is also against the Scots. He is one of eight UL students that have been training with the squad this week but Head Coach Nigel Carolan has selected just four of these included in the matchday twenty three.
Lock Fineen Wycherley is due to start with Adam Moloney, Jack Lyons and Conor Fitzgerald named as replacements. The Ireland U-20 team last won the Six Nations Championship in 2010, when current Munster and Ireland international star Simon Zebo played in the side.
IRELAND WOMEN: Mairead Coyne (Galwegians/Connacht); Niamh Kavanagh (UL Bohemians/Munster), Jenny Murphy (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Sene Naoupu (Aylesford Bulls), Alison Miller (Old Belvedere/Connacht); Nora Stapleton (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Ailsa Hughes (Railway Union/Leinster); Lindsay Peat (Railway Union/Leinster), Leah Lyons (Highfield/Munster), Ailis Egan (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Orla Fitzsimons (St. Mary’s/Leinster), Marie Louise Reilly (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Ciara Griffin (UL Bohemians/Munster), Claire Molloy (Bristol/Connacht), Paula Fitzpatrick (St. Mary’s/Leinster) (capt).
Replacements: Jennie Finlay (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Ilse van Staden (Cooke/Ulster), Ciara O’Connor (Galwegians/Connacht), Elaine Anthony (Highfield/Munster), Nichola Fryday (Tullamore/Connacht), Mary Healy (Galwegians/Connacht), Claire McLaughlin (Cooke/Ulster), Eimear Considine (UL Bohemians/Munster).
IRELAND U-20: Jack Kelly (Dublin University/Leinster) (capt); Jordan Larmour (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Gavin Mullin (UCD/Leinster), Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster), Colm Hogan (Dublin University/Munster); Johnny McPhillips (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Jonny Stewart (Queen’s University/Ulster); Joey Conway (UL Bohemians/Munster), Tadgh McElroy (Lansdowne/Leinster), Peter Cooper (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), Fineen Wycherley (Young Munster/Munster), Oisin Dowling (Lansdowne/Leinster), Cillian Gallagher (Corinthians/Connacht), Paul Boyle (Lansdowne/Leinster), Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster).
Replacements: Adam Moloney (Shannon/Munster), Rory Mulvihill (UCD/Leinster), Charlie Connolly (Dublin University/Leinster), Jack Regan (UCD/Leinster), Marcus Rea (Queen’s University/Ulster), Jack Lyons (Young Munster/Munster), Conor Fitzgerald (Shannon/Munster), Tommy O’Brien (UCD/Leinster).