Ireland head coach Scott Bemand has made three changes to the starting team that hammered Italy 54-12 in Parma for Saturday’s Six Nations championship match against an all-conquering England at Musgrave Park (4.45). The visitors are looking for a 32nd consecutive victory in the tournament, a run that started with victory over Ireland in 2018.
Emily Lane is promoted from the bench to scrumhalf in place of Aoibheann Reilly who heads in the opposite direction in the only change to the starting backline. Injury has ruled out flanker Edel McMahon and her place in the backrow goes to Brittany Hogan.
The Ulster player started on the bench in Italy, but Bemand opted for a conventional five-three split rather than the six-two orientation of the last day. This means that outhalf Nicole Fowley is named in the matchday 23.
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Dorothy Wall swaps places with Ruth Campbell and will partner Old Belvedere’s Fiona Tuite in the secondrow. Enya Breen picked up an injury the last day and so Wicklow’s Vicky Elmes Kinlan is set to make her Six Nations debut and will wear the number 23 jersey.
England head coach John Mitchell has made three changes to the team that hammered Wales last time out. Abby Dow will earn her 50th cap, the Trailfinders Women wing scored twice against the Welsh taking her try tally for England to 43 in 49 games to date, since her two-try debut against Canada in 2017.
She forms part of an unchanged backline with Mitchell making three changes to the pack. Gloucester-Hartpury backrow Alex Matthews returns for her first appearance of the tournament with club team-mate Maud Muir and Bristol Bears’ Hannah Botterman coming into the frontrow.
IRELAND: S Flood (Railway Union); A McGann (Railway Union), A Dalton (Old Belvedere), E Higgins (Railway Union), A-L Costigan (Railway Union, capt); D O’Brien (Old Belvedere), E Lane (Blackrock College); N O’Dowd (Old Belvedere), N Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury), L Djougang (Old Belvedere); F Tuite (Old Belvedere), D Wall (Exeter Chiefs); B Hogan (Old Belvedere), E King (Old Belvedere), A Wafer (Blackrock College).
Replacements: C Moloney (Exeter Chiefs), S McCarthy (Railway Union), C Haney (Blackrock College), R Campbell (Old Belvedere), G Moore (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby), A Reilly (Blackrock College), N Fowley (Galwegians), V Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow).
ENGLAND: E Kildunne; A Dow, M Jones, T Heard, J Breach; Z Harrison, N Hunt; H Botterman, L Atkin-Davies, M Muir; M Talling, A Ward; Z Aldcroft, S Kabeya, A Matthews.
Replacements: A Cokayne, K Clifford, S Bern, R Galligan, M Feaunati, L Packer, H Aitchson, H Rowland.
