The side suffered a shock defeat to the 2019-20 Rugby Europe Championship winners in their first game of the Rugby World Cup 2021 Europe Qualifier tournament and needed a win to ensure that their qualification hopes stayed alive for the final round.

Ireland came away with a 15-7 victory that showcased an improved team performance after a shocking display in the loss to Spain.

Parsons shone on the day with her two highlights being a try to open the scoring and a dazzling run that led to Ireland’s second one of the day.

The head coach heaped praise on the 19-year-old back: “She’s outrageous. She had a really good game, she’s so hard to beat one-on-one.

“The beauty of her collecting that ball at the back, having time and space to pick out players one-on-one meant she was able to use her feet, bounce them off and get into space quickly with that acceleration that she has.

“The pleasing aspect for me of the try was that once she was brought to ground we recycled the ball quickly.”

Ireland’s backs worked well together to produce their second try following Parsons’ superb run.

The side looked much better as a whole throughout the game, although their set-piece still let them down at times.

Italy struggled to make their mark on the game and only got on the scoreboard when full-back Eimear Considine was in the bin.

Griggs said: “I’m happy that we got the result we were after. I thought we did a really good job of keeping Italy at bay and forcing pressure on them through our defence.

“It was something we spoke about this week, putting a real emphasis on closing down their space and not giving them time on the ball and I thought we did a really good job of that and it showed. Them struggling to exit kept us in the right areas of the field.

“It would have been nice to execute a couple more of those opportunities but at the same time we were after the result and we’re happy with that.”

Ireland will face Scotland next Saturday at 5 pm with a win and a bucketload of points needed to earn automatic qualification, should Italy beat Spain.

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Head coach Adam Griggs has selected a 28-strong squad that will travel to Parma with the aim of reaching next year’s global tournament in New Zealand.

Griggs has included three uncapped players in his selection for the qualifying tournament in Parma, as Ireland prepare to go head-to-head with hosts Italy, Spain and Scotland for a place at Rugby World Cup 2021.

Lucy Mulhall, Sam Monaghan and Mary Healy are in line to earn their first caps for the side in Italy.

Mulhall is the Ireland Women’s Sevens captain and is set her first appearance for the country at 15s in the qualifiers.

Monaghan came through the IRFU’s IQ Rugby programme and she has trained alongside Mulhall with the side in recent weeks at the IRFU High Performance Centre.

Mary Healy has impressed with her performances in the Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship for Leinster in recent weeks.

Ireland will face Spain in their opening game on Monday, 13 September (5 pm Irish time) before meeting Six Nations rivals Italy in Round 2 on Sunday, 19 September (2 pm Irish time) and Scotland in Round 3 on Saturday, 25 September (5 pm Irish time).

The top team will book a spot in Group B at Rugby World Cup 2021 and the runner-up will enter the Final Qualification Tournament.

Commenting on his selection, Griggs said: “This was a difficult selection process with the quality we have in the squad, however, we have selected players who have performed consistently well throughout our training camps in the HPC and earned this opportunity.

“It’s an exciting group including a good mix of experienced players who have been involved in big Test matches and understand the detail, preparation and intensity required to win at this level. We are looking forward to heading to Parma and fine-tuning our game for Spain first and foremost.

“While we can only focus on one game at a time, we won’t shy away from the end goal of this being a winner-takes-all tournament for participation at Rugby World Cup 2021. The players and staff are all highly motivated and focused on making sure we are successful as a group.”

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Ballinasloe native Parsons will start at 11 and looks like the main source for scoring trys against the Welsh in a must-win game. The format this year leaves Ireland looking for a top-two finish to play at least the 3rd/4th playoff.

Head Coach Adam Griggs has named his Ireland Match Day 23 to face Wales in Saturday’s Women’s Six Nations game in Cardiff, with Sevens international Eve Higgins set for her XVs debut in the centre and uncapped backs Emily Lane and Stacey Flood included on the replacements bench.

Ireland will be captained by Ciara Griffin in the opening game of their 2021 Championship campaign at Cardiff Arms Park (Kick-off 5pm, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player), with Griggs’ starting XV showing three changes to the side that beat Italy at Energia Park last October.

Higgins, who has starred for Ireland on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in recent seasons, has impressed during Ireland’s preparations for the Six Nations and earns her debut cap in midfield alongside the experienced Sene Naoupu, while Sevens internationals Lane and Flood are included on the bench for their first taste of Championship action.

Eimear Considine returns to the full-back jersey as one of the three changes in personnel from the victory over Italy last time out, with Lauren Delany switching to the right wing and Beibhinn Parsons lining out on the left.

21-year-old Higgins, capped 20 times for Ireland Sevens, partners Naoupu in midfield, while the half-back pairing of Hannah Tyrrell and Kathryn Dane are retained having impressed against the Azzurri.

There is an unchanged front row named by Griggs as Lindsay Peat, Cliodhna Moloney and Linda Djougang once again pack down together, with the fit-again Aoife McDermott returning to the second row alongside Nichola Fryday.

Griffin leads the side from number eight, with Dorothy Wall set for her fifth cap at blindside flanker and Claire Molloy named at openside.

Uncapped duo Lane and Flood provide the half-back cover on the replacements bench, where they are joined by forwards Neve Jones, Katie O’Dwyer, Laura Feely, Brittany Hogan and Hannah O’Connor, with Enya Breen providing the additional backline cover.

Commenting on his selection, Head Coach Griggs says the competition for places within the squad has intensified in recent weeks as the squad stepped up their preparations at the IRFU High Performance Centre.

“We are extremely confident in the squad we have selected,” he said. “We have had a great deal of time to prepare together and this group of players have earned the responsibility to bring the high standards we have set ourselves throughout training into this first game.

“Wales at home will bring a strong challenge and we need to make sure we start the game well and build a platform that allows us to play our game and start this competition off with a win.”

Ireland’s opening game of the 2021 Women’s Six Nations is live on RTÉ and the RTÉ Player in the Republic of Ireland, while there is coverage on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport Website for supporters in the UK.

Ireland Team (v Wales, Women’s Six Nations):

15. Eimear Considine (UL Bohemian/Munster)(15 caps)
14. Lauren Delany (Sale Sharks/IQ Rugby)(12)
13. Eve Higgins (Railway Union/Leinster)*
12. Sene Naoupu (Old Belvedere/ Leinster)(38)
11. Beibhinn Parsons (Ballinasloe/Blackrock College/Connacht)(8)
10. Hannah Tyrrell (Old Belvedere/Leinster)(17)
9. Kathryn Dane (Old Belvedere/Ulster)(10)

1. Lindsay Peat (Railway Union/Leinster)(31)
2. Cliodhna Moloney (Wasps/IQ Rugby)(23)
3. Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere/Leinster)(9)
4. Aoife McDermott (Railway Union/Leinster)(13)
5. Nichola Fryday (Blackrock College/Connacht)(15)
6. Dorothy Wall (Blackrock College/ Munster)(4)
7. Claire Molloy (Wasps/IQ Rugby)(70)
8. Ciara Griffin (Captain)(UL Bohemian/Munster)(33)

Replacements:

16. Neve Jones (Malone/Ulster)(1)
17. Katie O’Dwyer (Railway Union/Leinster)(1)
18. Laura Feely (Blackrock College/Connacht)(16)
19. Brittany Hogan (DCU/Old Belvedere/Ulster)(1)
20. Hannah O’Connor (Blackrock College/Leinster)(2)
21. Emily Lane (Blackrock College/Munster)*
22. Stacey Flood (Railway Union/Leinster)*
23. Enya Breen (UL Bohemian/Munster)(4).

* Denotes uncapped player.

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Parsons who is in her first year of University is the major try-scoring threat Ireland has and with the new format, score difference could be huge. Let’s hope the Ballinasloe native can score lots of tries over the coming weeks.

The Ireland coaching group have included five uncapped players in a squad of 35 for the upcoming Women’s Six Nations Championship.

All five have been capped at 7s and represented Ireland at the HSBC World Rugby Sevens. The quintet includes Amee Leigh Murphy Crowe who was the series Top Try scorer in 2019 and named in the Dream Team.

Stacey Flood, Eve Higgins, Emily Lane, Grace Moore, and Murphy Crowe have been part of the training squad since the conclusion of the Championship back in October.

Claire Boles and Emma Hooban were also added to the squad at the same time and are named for the upcoming tournament.

Ireland will be without the experienced trio of Ciara Cooney, Edel McMahon and Grand Slam winner Larissa Muldoon as all three are unavailable due to injury.

Dates and kick off times for the Championship were confirmed today by Six Nations Rugby. Ireland start their campaign away to Wales on April 10th with a 5pm kick off.

A week later they are back at Energia Park to face France, with that game down for a 2:15 start.

The tournament concludes with a final round of games on April 24th determined by results over the first two rounds.

Ciara Griffin will captain the squad which also includes newcomers Katie O’Dwyer, Neve Jones and Brittany Hogan, who all made their debut against Italy last October.

Ireland head coach Adam Griggs commented: “It means a huge amount to us to have test rugby on the horizon. This group have been working very closely together over the past number of months and the Six Nations was always going to be a priority for us.

We have two more camps to fine tune things ahead of the first fixture and competition for match squad places will be high.”

Ireland Squad (Women’s Six Nations Championship 2021)

Player/Club/Province/Caps

Backs (16):

Enya Breen (UL Bohemian/ Munster) 4
Eimear Considine (UL Bohemian/ Munster) 15
Kathryn Dane (Old Belvedere/ Ulster) 10
Lauren Delany (Sale Sharks/ IQ Rugby) 12
Aoife Doyle (Railway Union/ Munster) 6
Katie Fitzhenry (Blackrock College/ Leinster) 13
Stacey Flood (Railway Union/Leinster) *
Eve Higgins (Railway Union/Leinster) *
Ailsa Hughes (Railway Union/ Leinster) 12
Emily Lane (Blackrock College/Munster) *
Ellen Murphy (Blackrock College/Leinster) 7
Amee Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union/Munster) *
Sene Naoupu (Old Belvedere/ Leinster) 38
Beibhinn Parsons (Ballinasloe/Blackrock College/ Connacht) 8
Laura Sheehan (Exeter Chiefs/IQ Rugby) 4
Hannah Tyrrell (Old Belvedere/ Leinster) 17

Forwards (19):

Claire Boles (Railway Union/Ulster) 3
Anna Caplice (Harlequins/ IQ Rugby) 14
Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere/ Leinster) 9
Laura Feely (Blackrock College/ Connacht) 15
Nichola Fryday (Blackrock College/ Connacht) 15
Ciara Griffin (UL Bohemian/ Munster) 33
Brittany Hogan (DCU/Old Belvedere/Ulster) 1
Emma Hooban (Blackrock College/Leinster) 7
Neve Jones (Malone/Ulster) 1
Leah Lyons (Harlequins/ IQ Rugby) 25
Aoife McDermott (Railway Union/ Leinster) 13
Claire Molloy (Wasps/IQ Rugby) 70
Cliodhna Moloney (Wasps/ IQ Rugby) 23
Grace Moore (Railway Union/IQ Rugby) *
Hannah O’Connor (Blackrock College/ Leinster) 2
Katie O’Dwyer (Railway Union/ Leinster) 1
Chloe Pearse (UL Bohemian/ Munster) 2
Lindsay Peat (Railway Union/ Leinster) 31
Dorothy Wall (Blackrock College/ Munster) 4

* Denotes uncapped at this level

Women’s Six Nations 2021 Fixtures

Wales v Ireland, Cardiff Arms Park, Saturday, April 10, 5pm

Ireland v France, Energia Parck, Saturday, April 17, 2:15pm

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