Women’s Six Nations Ireland v Scotland Preview

Scotland travel to Ireland in the last round of the Women’s Six Nations – the first meeting of the two teams since Scotland knocked Ireland out of Rugby World Cup qualifying.

Ireland have the upper hand in this year’s final match. They have home advantage and are also in a stronger position in the table. Greg McWilliams’s side head into this match off the back of a loss to England, but they are fourth following a bonus-point victory over Italy.

Scotland, meanwhile, are yet to win a match in this year’s championship, instead only picking up two losing bonus points. In both of those matches, against Wales and Italy, they were ahead but couldn’t close out the match. Fans may have been hoping for an improvement in terms of table position following their World Cup qualification but it hasn’t come through.

But who have the coaches selected and how do fans watch? Here’s all you need to know in our Women’s Six Nations Ireland v Scotland Preview.

What’s the big team news?

Ireland have made three changes to their starting line-up as Vicky Irwin wins her first cap at full-back and Nikki Caughey comes in at fly-half for the injured Nicole Cronin.

There’s great news for the hosts as their star Sam Monaghan is back from injury to line-up in the second row.

Scotland, meanwhile, have not made any changes to the starting XV that faced Italy last week. Bryan Easson has made some changes to the bench, though, as Eva Donaldson, Mairi McDonald and Emma Orr come in as replacement options.

What have the coaches said?

Ireland head coach Greg McWilliams: “It will be a special moment for us all to have a big home crowd behind us at Kingspan Stadium. We have received huge support in Dublin and Cork so far in this Six Nations and it’s a massive boost for the whole group to have so many people – young and old – behind us as we embark on our journey together.

“We have learnt a lot about ourselves over the last six weeks and we hope to produce a strong performance to finish the Six Nations the way we want this Saturday. It promises to be another great occasion and we can’t wait to see so many of you in Belfast.”

Scotland head coach Bryan Easson: “The decision-making process throughout the Women’s Six Nations has been around giving as much experience to as many players as we can ahead of the World Cup in New Zealand. I’ve been really pleased with some of the performances from the younger players who have made the team selection choices a lot tougher.

“I felt the players performed well in the first half against Italy and this is another chance for that group to put the second-half wrongs right this Saturday.”

What time is kick-off and is it on TV?

The fixture will kick-off at 8pm on Saturday 30 April at the Kingspan Stadium.

The game will be available to watch on BBC Scotland, BBC Two Northern Ireland and the BBC iPlayer in the UK. In Ireland the match will be shown on RTE2. For more information on how to watch the match from elsewhere in the world see our Women’s Six Nations live stream guide.

Maggie Cogger-Orr is the referee and will be assisted by Clara Munarini and Francesca Martin. Ian Tempest is the TMO.

What are the line-ups?

Ireland: Vicky Irwin; Aoife Doyle, Sene Naoupu, Enya Breen, Molly Scuffil-McCabe; Nikki Caughey, Kathryn Dane; Linda Djougang, Neve Jones, Christy Haney, Nichola Fryday (captain), Sam Monaghan, Dorothy Wall, Edel McMahon, Hannah O’Connor.

Replacements: Emma Hooban, Chloe Pearse, Katie O’Dwyer, Aoife McDermott, Grace Moore, Maeve Og O’Leary, Ailsa Hughes, Michelle Claffey.

Scotland: Chloe Rollie; Rhona Lloyd, Lisa Thomson, Helen Nelson, Shona Campbell; Sarah Law, Caity Mattinson; Molly Wright, Lana Skeldon, Christine Belisle, Emma Wassell, Sarah Bonar, Rachel Malcolm (captain), Rachel McLachlan, Evie Gallagher.

Replacements: Jodie Rettie, Leah Bartlett, Katie Dougan, Louise McMillan, Eva Donaldson, Mairi McDonald, Emma Orr, Megan Gaffney.

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