Maeve Óg O'Leary returns to Munster's starting XV for Connacht clash
Gráinne Burke and Saoirse Crowe make their first senior appearances in the front row and will be joined by the experience Eilís Cahill.
Aoibhe O'Flynn makes her first start in the second row alongside Claire Bennett.
Captain Maeve Óg O'Leary returns to the starting XV following two knee surgeries last year is making her first appearance since Munster's historic clash against the Barbarians in Thomond Park in September 2023. She joins Brianna Heylmann and Chloe Pearse in making up a powerful back row.
Abbie Salter-Townshend and Caitriona Finn make their first senior starts at scrum-half and out-half. Stephaine Nunan and Alana McInerney partner in the centre. Chisom Ugwueru and Lyndsay Clarke start on the wings, with Clarke making her senior debut, while Aoife Corey takes up the full-back position.
There is a mixture of youth and experience on the bench with Aoife Fleming, Lily Morris, Eve Prendergast and Orna Moynihan in line for their first senior Munster appearances.
Ella Burns, Lily Brady and Megan Collis make up the front row for Connacht. Poppy Garvey and Grace Browne Moran make up the second row with Beibhinn Gleeson, Lesley Ring and Jemima Adams Verling making up the pack.
Grainne Moran and Siofra Hession partner at out-half with captain Éabha Nic Dhonnacha and Orla Dixon in the centre. Ava Ryder and Emily will start on the wings with Clara Barrett at full back.
Meanwhile, Leinster take on Ulster in the second interpro clash. Molly Byrne will captain the side during the summer period and will be joined in the back row by debutant Ciara Short and Ireland U20 captain Jane Neill.
Clíodhna Ní Chonchobhair and Kate Jordan make up a new-look engine room with Aoife Moore, Katie Layde are joined by the returning Lisa Callen who missed last season through injury.
Jade Gaffney renews her partnership with Nikki Caughey in the half-backs with debutant Kathy Baker partnering with Cara Martin in midfield.
Emma Brogan and Maggie Boylan start on the wings with Caoimhe McCormack at full-back as all three are set for their first senior appearances.
Veterans Kelly Burke and Clodagh Dunne have been named on the bench alongside uncapped replacements Méabh Keegan, Rosie Searle, Emma Kelly, Erin McConnell, Ellie O'Sullivan-Sexton and Katie Corrigan.
Ulster captain India Daley is joined by Ruby Starrett and Katie Hetherington in the back row with Lauren Darley and Brenda Barr in the engine room. Sarah Roberts, Maebh Clenaghan and Sophie Barrett make up the front row.
Georgina Boyce joins Lauren Farrell McCabe while Tara O'Neill and Siobhan Sheerin partnering in the centre. Paige Smyth joins Lucy Thompson on the wings with Niamh Marley at full back.
MUNSTER (v Connacht): A Corey, L Clarke, A McInerney, S Nunan, C Ugwueru, C Finn, A Salter-Townshend; G Burke, S Crowe, E Cahill, A O'Flynn, C Bennett, B Heylmann, M Óg O'Leary (C), C Pearse.
Replacements: A Fleming, C McLoughlin, L Morris, J Clohessy, A Cournane, E Prendergast, K Flannery, O Moynihan.
CONNACHT (v Munster): C Barrett, E Foley, O Dixon, É Nic Dhonnacha (C), A Ryder, S Hession, G Moran; E Burns, L Brady, M Collis, P Garvey, G Browne Moran, B Gleeson, L Ring, J Adams Verling.
Replacements: S Hanley, H Coen, R Maher, A Quinn, C Morrissey, K Tierney, S O'Brien, F Ní Bhraonáin.
LEINSTER (v Ulster): C McCormack, E Brogan, K Baker, C Martin, M Boylan, N Caughey, J Gaffney; A Moore, L Callan, K Layde, C Ní Chonchobhair, K Jordan, C Short, M Boyne (C), J Neill.
Replacements: M Keegan, K Burke, C Dunne, R Searle, E Kelly, E McConnell, E O'Sullivan-Sexton, K Corrigan.
ULSTER (v Leinster): N Marley, L Thompson, S Sheerin, T O'Neill, P Smyth, L Farrell McCabe, G Boyce; S Roberts, M Clenaghan, S Barrett, L Darley, B Barr, R Starrett, K Hetherington, I Daley (C).
Replacements: M Simpson, C McLean, A Fannin, R Beacom, M Hill, R McIlroy, K McCormill, S Sloan.
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The Journal
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Ireland fall to defeat to Canada in final World Cup warm-up game
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This was the cue for Ireland to establish some attacking momentum and when the ball was moved towards the right-flank on 20 minutes, Parsons regathered possession after initially being tackled by a retreating Canadian defender and proceeded to touch down in fine style. Beibhinn Parsons. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO Ireland's prospects were further bolstered when O'Brien confidently split the posts from the conversion that followed Parsons' five-pointer, but this was as good as it got for the home team during the first half. Even though Canada were forced to withdraw team captain Alexandra Tessier for a head injury assessment, a second converted try from Symonds ensured Kevin Rouet's side had restored their 14-point cushion before Menin returned to the field of play. 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A fourth successful conversion from de Goede increased the gap between the teams, before Ireland finally hit a purple patch either of the third-quarter mark. Advertisement The addition of further fresh legs (including former England prop Ellena Perry for her Ireland debut) aided their cause substantially, but it was starting winger Anna McGann who got on the end of an elaborate pass out wide by full-back Stacey Flood for her side's second try on 59 minutes. Head coach Scott Bemand. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO McGann was becoming more prominent as the game progressed and the Westmeath native showcased her athleticism just three minutes later by sprinting through a gap in the Canada defence for an outstanding individual score. Having been denied a second successful conversion by the woodwork in the aftermath of McGann's first try, O'Brien made no mistake on this occasion as Ireland started to operate with a greater degree of authority. 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Before coming back to ultimately earn the spoils, Ireland found themselves staring into an early 14-0 deficit against the Scots on the Leeside seven days ago. Although they enjoyed some initial possession when Beibhinn Parsons earned a penalty off Dannah O'Brien's kick-off, Ireland subsequently trailed by the same margin with just 14 minutes on the clock. After outside centre Florence Symonds raced under the posts on 10 minutes after a relentless spell of attacking pressure, scrum-half Justine Pelletier broke away moments later for the visitors' second try of the action (second row Sophie de Goede was on hand to slot over a brace of conversions). While these were ominous signs for Ireland, they did gain a temporary numerical advantage at the end of the opening quarter when Canada's tighthead prop Daleaka Menin was sin-binned for a high tackle on Connacht flanker Ivana Kiripati. This was the cue for Ireland to establish some attacking momentum and when the ball was moved towards the right-flank on 20 minutes, Parsons regathered possession after initially being tackled by a retreating Canadian defender and proceeded to touch down in fine style. Beibhinn Parsons. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO Ireland's prospects were further bolstered when O'Brien confidently split the posts from the conversion that followed Parsons' five-pointer, but this was as good as it got for the home team during the first half. Advertisement Even though Canada were forced to withdraw team captain Alexandra Tessier for a head injury assessment, a second converted try from Symonds ensured Kevin Rouet's side had restored their 14-point cushion before Menin returned to the field of play. Her re-emergence coincided with Ireland's starting captain Neve Jones being issued with a yellow card by match referee Aurélie Groizeleau and the Exeter Chiefs front-row offered further breathing space to the 2014 World Cup finalists by driving over for their fourth try on 33 minutes. Ireland were back to their full complement prior to the interval, but with another intricate Canadian attack in stoppage-time leading to a converted finish for winger Paige Farries on the left flank, they trailed by all of 26 points (33-7) at the break. There was certainly a greater energy to the Irish play when the action resumed, helped in no small way by the introduction of regular team skipper Sam Monaghan for her second international appearance since recovering from a long-term injury lay-off. However, Canada maintained a potent attacking threat – exemplified by full-back Julia Schell's breakaway try 15 minutes into the second half. A fourth successful conversion from de Goede increased the gap between the teams, before Ireland finally hit a purple patch either of the third-quarter mark. The addition of further fresh legs (including former England prop Ellena Perry for her Ireland debut) aided their cause substantially, but it was starting winger Anna McGann who got on the end of an elaborate pass out wide by full-back Stacey Flood for her side's second try on 59 minutes. Head coach Scott Bemand. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO McGann was becoming more prominent as the game progressed and the Westmeath native showcased her athleticism just three minutes later by sprinting through a gap in the Canada defence for an outstanding individual score. Having been denied a second successful conversion by the woodwork in the aftermath of McGann's first try, O'Brien made no mistake on this occasion as Ireland started to operate with a greater degree of authority. The Canadian rearguard were now being placed under sustained pressure by their Irish counterparts and after the play was switched from one side to the other, Parsons was left with a relatively routine task of crossing over to the right of the posts for her second try on 71 minutes. O'Brien added the bonuses once again to reduce the gap to 14 points, but this was as close as Ireland came to claiming a dramatic comeback win. With Flood in the sin-bin following consultation between Groizeleau and TMO Andrew McMenemy, the excellent de Goede bagged a seven-point salvo in the final minute to ensure their opponents will depart for the World Cup on the back of a 21-point reversal. 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Canada: Julia Schell; Alysha Corrigan, Florence Symonds (Sarah-Maude Lachance '68), Alexandra Tessier (Shoshanah Seumanutafa '24), Paige Farries (Olivia Demerchant '26-30); Claire Gallagher, Justine Pelletier (Olivia Apps '56); McKinley Hunt (Brittany Kassil '52), Gillian Boag (Emily Tuttosi '52), Daleaka Menin (Olivia Demerchant half-time); Sophie de Goede, Tyson Beukeboom; Karen Paquin (Pamphinette Buisa '56) (Courtney O'Donnell '60)), Caroline Crossley, Fabiola Forteza. Referee: Aurélie Groizeleau (France).
Irish Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
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Inside Ger Brennan's life off the pitch as a family man with wife and children
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