The Irish team and their World Cup hopes have been dealt a blow with Dorothy Wall ruled out of the tournament in England later this year.
The 24-year-old from Clonmel will undergo surgery on her Achilles tendon on Wednesday making it all but impossible for her to be fit for Ireland’s opening game against Japan on August 24th in Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton.
An IRFU statement confirmed that the Irish forward will be sidelined for several months post-surgery.
Wall, who started at blindside flanker against Scotland in Edinburgh’s Hive Stadium last Saturday, ended her season after 17 minutes of play, when she was helped from the field. Replaced by Claire Boles, Ireland were beaten 26-19 in what was their final game of the championship.
“I’m devastated to be missing the next couple of months, but my main focus now is on my rehab programme and I’m looking forward to supporting the team in the Rugby World Cup,” said the Irish backrow.
Wall has been central to the Irish team’s evolution over the last five years and will present a substantial hole for coach Scott Bemand to fill. Having made her debut against Scotland in 2020 as a 19-year-old, she has been a constant figure in the Irish pack and an important part of Bemand’s rebuilding of the team over the last two seasons.
Her injury arrives after Aoife Wafer was ruled out of the game against Scotland. Wexford-native Wafer, who was nominated this week for Player of the Year, suffered a knee injury in Ireland’s 40-14 win over Wales.
It was a win over Scotland that secured Ireland’s qualification for the World Cup, having lost out on qualification for the 2021 World Cup in New Zealand.
Speaking last year, the Exeter Chiefs player, who has 37 Irish caps, spoke of the optimism within the squad.
“Our Sevens players who were just made Olympians came in and they added some value,” said Wall. “It’s just a really good group of girls, very talented and driven, smart players. I hope our transition is to better performances, competing with some of these tier teams and competing for a final spot at the World Cup next year.”
Ireland follow up their opening World Cup Pool C game against Japan with a second test against Spain in Franklin’s Gardens on August 31st. The team then move to the coast and face defending champions New Zealand in Brighton on September 7th to conclude the pool phase.
