Ireland suffer ANOTHER devastating injury blow as Aoife Wafer ruled out of Six Nations finale against Scotland
IRELAND have been handed another huge injury blow after Aoife Wafer was ruled out of the Six Nations finale against Scotland.
The Wexford-native suffered a knee injury in their
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Aoife Wafer has been ruled out of Ireland's Six Nations finale against Scotland
Credit: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
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She suffered a knee injury in Ireland's win over Wales
Credit: Kian Abdullah/Sportsfile
And in an update on Thursday, the IRFU confirmed that she will miss the curtain-closer against Scotland on Saturday.
The 22-year-old is the latest high profile loss, after Erin King suffered a
The Blessington star has undergone surgery on the issue which will keep her out of the rest of the
With Wafer and King both missing, head coach Scott Bemand has made four changes to the side that hammered Wales.
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Uncapped Munster duo Aoife Corey and Jane Clohessy are both in line for their debuts - with the first starting at full-back and the second among the replacements.
Amee-Leigh Costigan and Vicky Elmes Kinlan complete the back three alongside Corey, with Kinlan making her first Six Nations start.
It is an unchanged midfield pairing as Enya Breen and Aoife Dalton continue at inside and outside centre respectively.
Dannah O'Brien and Molly Scuffil-McCabe are retained in the half-backs.
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In the pack, Niamh O'Dowd returns to fitness to start in the front row alongside Neve Jones and Linda Djougang.
Ruth Campbell and Fiona Tuite are in the engine room, allowing Dorothy Wall to shift to blindside flanker in a back row alongside captain McMahon and number eight Brittany Hogan.
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On the bench, Cliodhna Moloney, Sadhbh McGrath, Christy Haney, the uncapped Clohessy and Claire Boles provide the forward reinforcements.
Backs Emily Lane, Eve Higgins and Stacey Flood complete Ireland's 23.
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Ireland are all-but certain to finish in third place for the second year in a row, but coach Denis Fogarty insisted they
Only a heavy defeat to the struggling Scots combined with a big Italian win over last-place Wales will see them drop a place.
And Fogarty insists the team will not be jaded after last weekend's 40-14 win over the Welsh in Newport for their Edinburgh Championship closer.
The former Munster hooker said: 'They're not exhausted.
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"They're energised by making sure we finish on a high.
'We know it's always very tricky over in Scotland, we're very much aware of that, but it's also pressure on us to make sure we managed the week really well.'
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