The Ireland Women’s national team will play Japan in their second Autumn International and their final test of 2021 on Saturday at the RDS Arena.
In their first Autumn International, which was the first women’s national game to be held at the RDS, Ireland recorded a 10-point victory over the United States of America.
It was their first match since they missed out on qualification to next year’s World Cup in Parma earlier this year.
The game has more significance than that for Ireland though, as it will be captain Ciara Griffin and Head Coach Adam Griggs’ last game with the girls in green.
Griffin, who has captained Ireland since 2018, will win her 41st cap for the national side on Saturday afternoon.
She has appeared in 40 of their 42 matches since making her debut against Wales in the 2016 Six Nations.
The 27-year-old has been a huge presence for Ireland in the back row since making her debut five years ago and will hang up her boots after five impressive years in green.
Griggs was appointed as the manager of the national side ahead of the 2018 Six Nations and gave Griffin the armband.
Former Ireland Women’s assistant coach Greg McWilliams will replace him after the side wrap up their 2021 fixtures.
Munster’s Aoife Doyle returns to the starting XV and is joined in the back three by Lauren Delany and Laura Sheehan, who are retained from last Friday’s win over the USA in Dublin.
Eimear Considine and Sene Naoupu continue their midfield partnership, but there is a new-look half-back pairing for Ireland with Kathryn Dane starting at scrum-half and Enya Breen in the pivotal out-half position.
In the pack, Laura Feely, Neve Jones and Linda Djougang are named in the front row, with the experienced Aoife McDermott returning to the second row alongside Sam Monaghan.
Griffin starts at blindside flanker for her 41st and final Ireland cap, with Edel McMahon continuing at openside and Hannah O’Connor back in the starting team at number eight following injury.
Leinster duo Mary Healy and Ella Roberts and Connacht back Shannon Touhey are all included in an Ireland matchday squad for the first time, with the trio among the seven replacements.
Teams
Ireland
15. Lauren Delany (Sale Sharks/IQ Rugby)(17)
14. Aoife Doyle (Railway Union/Munster)(6)
13. Eimear Considine (UL Bohemians/Munster)(22)
12. Sene Naoupu (Old Belvedere/Leinster)(45)
11. Laura Sheehan (Exeter Chiefs/IQ Rugby)(5)
10. Enya Breen (UL Bohemians/Munster)(8)
9. Kathryn Dane (Old Belvedere/Ulster)(17)
1. Laura Feely (Blackrock College/Connacht)(22)
2. Neve Jones (Malone/Ulster)(5)
3. Linda Djougang (ASM Romagnat Rugby/Leinster)(16)
4. Aoife McDermott (Railway Union/Leinster)(17)
5. Sam Monaghan (Wasps/IQ Rugby)(4)
6. Ciara Griffin (UL Bohemians/Munster)(Captain)(40)
7. Edel McMahon (Wasps/IQ Rugby)(13)
8. Hannah O’Connor (Blackrock College/Leinster)(6).
Replacements:
16. Cliodhna Moloney (Wasps/IQ Rugby)(30)
17. Katie O’Dwyer (Railway Union/Leinster)(4)
18. Mary Healy (Naas/Suttonians/Leinster)*
19. Anna Caplice (Gloucester-Hartpury/IQ Rugby)(15)
20. Maeve Og O’Leary (Blackrock College/Munster)(1)
21. Alisa Hughes (Railway Union/Leinster)(13)
22. Shannon Touhey (Tullamore/Connacht)*
23. Ella Roberts (Wicklow/Leinster)*
Japan
| 1 | Sachiko KATO | Exeter Chiefs Women/ YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars |
164 | 78 | 2000/02/19 | 8 |
| 2 | Nijiho NAGATA | International Budo Univ. | 163 | 77 | 2000/12/06 | 2 |
| 3 | Makoto LAVEMAI | YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars | 164 | 67 | 1997/07/02 | 10 |
| 4 | Kie TAMAI | MIE WOMEN’S RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB PEARLS | 168 | 76 | 1992/10/24 | 6 |
| 5 | Otoka YOSHIMURA | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA/ Rissho Univ. |
175 | 83 | 2001/05/15 | － |
| 6 | Seina SAITO | MIE WOMEN’S RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB PEARLS | 164 | 67 | 1992/05/30 | 25 |
| 7 | Misaki SUZUKI | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix | 164 | 66 | 1992/04/09 | 24 |
| 8 | Ayano NAGAI | YOKOHAMA TKM | 169 | 86 | 1997/10/14 | 4 |
| 9 | Moe TSUKUI | YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars / Aoyama Gakuin Univ. |
153 | 53 | 2000/03/28 | 15 |
| 10 | Ayasa OTSUKA | RKU GRACE | 163 | 60 | 1999/05/05 | 3 |
| 11 | Komachi IMAKUGI | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA/Rissho Univ. | 158 | 60 | 2002/01/06 | 3 |
| 12 | Kanako KOBAYASHI | Exeter Chiefs Women/ YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars |
162 | 70 | 1998/11/13 | 4 |
| 13 | Mana FURUTA | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix | 167 | 68 | 1997/11/16 | 8 |
| 14 | Hinano NAGURA | YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars | 170 | 71 | 1997/03/22 | 4 |
| 15 | Ria ANOKU | MIE WOMEN’S RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB PEARLS | 160 | 57 | 1996/10/02 | 3 |
| 16 | Hinata KOMAKI | Nippon Sport Science Univ. | 166 | 75 | 2001/05/09 | 1 |
| 17 | Ayumu KOKAJI | Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix | 160 | 80 | 2000/11/24 | 5 |
| 18 | Wako KITANO | RKU GRACE | 166 | 79 | 1999/09/08 | 3 |
| 19 | Saki MINAMI | YOKOGAWA Musashino Artemi-Stars | 163 | 72 | 1995/11/18 | 18 |
| 20 | Iroha NAGATA | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA | 167 | 70 | 1998/12/21 | 9 |
| 21 | Yuki ITO | MIE WOMEN’S RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB PEARLS | 163 | 64 | 1996/10/24 | 7 |
| 22 | Megumi ABE | ARUKAS QUEEN KUMAGAYA | 147 | 53 | 1998/04/28 | 4 |
| 23 | Minori YAMAMOTO | MIE WOMEN’S RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB PEARLS/ Worcester Warriors Women |
168 | 72 | 1996/12/09 | 16 |
Where To Watch
The match will kick off at 3 pm and will be shown live on RTÉ 2.
