The Ireland Women's Sevens squad to compete in the first leg of the Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Grand Prix in Kazan, Russia this weekend has been confirmed which includes four Munster players.
| Ireland have been drawn in Pool B with hosts Russia, Italy and Belgium. There are four changes to the squad that competed in the final stage of the HSBC World Rugby Women's Sevens Series in Clermont last month that include three Munster players. Munster’s Nicole Cronin has successfully recovered from a series of injuries that have hampered her over the last number of months and having come through the Amsterdam 7s, will make her first appearance in a green jersey since last year. Also returning from injury is Munser’s Louise Galvin who has completed her rehab on a broken leg. Munster and Ireland 15s captain Niamh Briggs will make her first senior Sevens appearance, having competed with the Irish Development side at the Kinsale, Guilford and Amsterdam 7s over the last number of weeks. Aoife Doyle from Shannon RFC retains her position on the squad. Speaking ahead of the squad departing for Kazan, Anthony Eddy said "It's a very busy period for the Women's Sevens programme at the moment. We have had teams competing in Clermont, Amsterdam, Guilford and Kinsale over the past number of weeks and it has given important game time to the players. The European Championships are a very important fixture on our calendar, with the likes of GB7s, Russia, France and Spain all involved, it's set to be a good test for us. The World Series games can be very physical, so we have decided to give some of the players a rest this week, but this will be a great opportunity for the other players coming in to show what they can do. With Olympic and World Series qualification on the line in UCD at the end of the month, it's important that we have all of our players in peak condition for that”. The European Championships will be the final competitive competition the Ireland side will compete in before the Women's Global Olympic Qualifying Tournament takes place in UCD in Dublin on the 25th and 26th June tickets for which are available here – www.ticketmaster.ie/sevens Ireland Women's squad for the Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Grand Prix Ashleigh Baxter – Belfast Harlequins / Ulster Niamh Briggs – UL Bohemians / Munster Nicole Cronin – Railway Union / Munster Aoife Doyle – Shannon / Munster Kim Flood - Railway Union / Leinster Stacey Flood – Railway Union / Leinster Louise Galvin - UL Bohemians / Munster Shannon Houston – Blackrock / Leinster Alison Miller – Portlaoise / Connacht Lucy Mulhall – Rathdrum / Leinster - Captain Hannah Tyrrell – Old Belvedere / Leinster Megan Williams – St.Mary's College RFC Match Schedule - Kazan Saturday 11th June 2016 Ireland v Italy – 11:50 (local time) / 9.50 (Irish time) Ireland v Belgium – 14:05 (local time) / 12.05 (Irish time) Ireland v Russia – 16:50 (local time) / 14.50 (Irish time) Sunday 12th June 2016 Finals Play-Offs Match updates will be available via the Irish Rugby Twitter – www.twitter.com/IrishRugby Games will be streamed via Rugby Europe - http://www.rugbyeurope.tv/ |