Wales v Ireland
Sunday April 20th, 3pm, Rodney Parade, live on RTÉ
Head coach Scott Bemand has made five changes to the Ireland XV in advance of this weekend’s Six Nations clash against Wales. Injuries are in play, as Edel McMahon, back fit herself, replaces Erin King – ruled out of both the Six Nations and World Cup with a knee injury. McMahon also takes on the skipper’s mantle.
Elsewhere, Siobhán McCarthy starts at prop in advance of the injured Niamh O’Dowd, ruled out by an arm issue.
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Ruth Campbell comes into the secondrow with Fiona Tuite on the bench, while rotation is the order of the day in the back line. Enya Breen starts at 12 as Eve Higgins drops to the bench. Aoife Dalton shifts to 13, while Molly Scuffil-McCabe lines out at scrumhalf in advance of Emily Lane.
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Sadhbh McGrath and Claire Boles are named on the bench for the first time in this campaign.
With England and France out of the way, Ireland arrive at the fortnight which was always going to determine the narrative on this Six Nations campaign. Wins over Wales and Scotland would see them achieve their aim of once again finishing as the competition’s third best side.
“We said we want to close the gap on the top two and we came out disappointed against France not to have converted in that game,” said Bemand. “We have shown that we can stick with England but were disappointed to let the game get away from us as well, so there are bits we can tidy up from that.
“Now we’re up to fifth in the world rankings and that comes with a bit of expectation. That’s class. It’s the position we wanted to be in so there is an expectation to go there and get a performance. We know from Italy what it’s like to get a winning performance out there and we know we can back that up again.”
The expectation is that Ireland should win on Sunday. They comfortably beat Wales by 31 points last year and look a significantly improved outfit this time around.
Ireland have undoubtedly become a more difficult team to play against. Only France rank above them for both breakdown steals and kicks out of hand in this campaign. Ireland are happy to employ a heavy kicking strategy while being a nuisance on the floor. The inclusion of Breen in the backline gives Bemand another strong kicking option to pair with Dannah O’Brien, who has put boot to ball more often than any other player in this Six Nations.
Ireland’s set-piece has certainly been another improvement. They lead the competition for successful lineouts, the influence of assistant coach Alex Codling bearing fruit. Given he has recently been double jobbing with Munster, whose set-piece faltered in Bordeaux when the Englishman was not present, he has become one of the more frequently discussed forwards coaches in recent memory. The attention is understandable, given Ireland had a paltry 61 per cent success rate at lineout during last year’s Six Nations.
“From our perspective we can see where the lineout was, to where we are tracking with it now, and some of the innovation he’s brought to it,” said Bemand.
Word is Munster want to nab Codling full time, such is the impression he has made in Limerick. “Beyond the summer, that’s a conversation for Codders and Munster,” said Bemand. “We know he’s in to the World Cup with us, he’s been doing bits across two pieces. We’ve found a way to blend it and make it work.
“We’ve got a great relationship with the provinces, Alex is making it work across both groups and it’s a privilege to have his input and his intel for a fast-developing group of forwards in our programme.”
Codling still has work to do on Ireland’s scrum. This year, Ireland have been the worst Six Nations team at securing their own ball from that platform.
Ireland are favoured but Wales have their threats. In the opening three rounds, wing Carys Cox was among the competition’s best ranked players for metres gained and line-breaks. Alex Callender returns as an important figure in the backrow, making her first start of the campaign at number eight.
The last time an Irish side went to Rodney Parade, a favoured U20s side was beaten by an inspired Welsh display. The form book suggests an upset won’t be on the cards this time , and Newport will likely prove a happy Easter hunting ground for an Ireland outfit looking for their second win of this year’s Six Nations.
Wales: Jasmine Joyce; Lisa Neumann, Hannah Jones (captain), Courtney Keight, Carys Cox; Kayleigh Powell, Keira Bevan; Gwenllian Pyrs, Kelsey Jones, Jenni Scoble; Abbie Fleming, Georgia Evans; Kate Williams, Bethan Lewis, Alex Callender. Replacements: Carys Phillips, Maisie Davies, Donna Rose, Natalia John, Alaw Pyrs, Sian Jones, Lleucu George, Catherine Richards.
Ireland: Stacey Flood; Anna McGann, Aoife Dalton, Enya Breen, Amee-Lee Costigan; Dannah O’Brien, Molly Scuffil-McCabe; Siobhán McCarthy, Neve Jones, Linda Djougang; Ruth Campbell, Dorothy Wall; Brittany Hogan, Edel McMahon (capt), Aoife Wafer. Replacements: Cliodhna Moloney, Sadhbh McGrath, Christy Haney, Fiona Tuite, Claire Boles, Emily Lane, Eve Higgins, Vicky Elmes Kinlan.
