Ireland women’s rugby are back in action after their heartbreak in Parma. The side was narrowly beaten and missed out on qualification for the upcoming World Cup in New Zealand.

This has been a hectic week in the media for the players after the Director of Irish women’s rugby Anthony Eddy made controversial claims to the media about the team’s lack of success. Some current and former players have spoken out against the Director on social media in recent days.

Anthony Eddy's comments have now been described as "slurry" by a member of the current Ireland team who is in camp preparing to play on Friday and "spineless" by a current player and recent international. Quite an impacthttps://t.co/14wizGx9fp

— Rúaidhrí O'Connor (@RuaidhriOC) November 9, 2021

Players Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe and Nichola Fryday spoke in a press conference today and said that they are only focused on their job at hand; their game against the Americans.

Manager Adam Griggs has shown his excitement in facing the star-studded USA team:

“We have had two good weeks of preparation for the Autumn Tests and the group are excited to get back out on the pitch and put that hard work into action. A first Test at the RDS under Friday night lights will be a special occasion and we’re looking forward to having family, friends, and our supporters back in the stands to get behind us.”

Ireland v USA Eagles will kick off at 19:45 on Friday 12th November in the RDS.

Their next match will be against Japan at 15:00 on Saturday 20th November.

Ireland Women’s squad v USA Eagle

Ireland women: 15. Lauren Delany, 14. Laura Sheehan, 13. Eimear Considine, 12. Sene Naoupu, 11. Beibhinn Parsons, 10. Stacey Flood, 9. Ailsa Hughes; 1. Lindsay Peat, 2. Cliodhna Moloney, 3. Leah Lyons, 4. Nichola Fryday, 5. Sam Monaghan, 6. Ciara Griffin (c), 7. Edel McMahon, 8. Anna Caplice

Replacements: 16. Neve Jones, 17. Katie O’Dwyer, 18. Linda Djougang, 19. Hannah O’Connor, 20. Maeve Óg O’Leary, 21. Kathryn Dane, 22. Eve Higgins, 23. Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe

To read more from this writer, click here.

And to read more in-depth and up-to-date Irish and international club rugby news, click here.

The post Ireland Women’s Rugby announce team for USA test appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The match against the USA is scheduled for Friday, November 12 while the game against Japan is set to be played on Saturday, November 20.

The USA are ranked sixth in the world while Japan sit 12th in the world – Ireland are currently number eight.

The two Autumn tests will be the first games for the side since their failed World Cup qualification campaign.

Ireland lost to Spain and Scotland in Parma, Italy, which saw them miss out on a spot at next year’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand – hosts Italy took the spot.

The IRFU has said it looks forward to welcoming supporters back to a Women’s International Test for the first time since March 2020 and all details including broadcast arrangements, ticket prices and club and school travel support offers will be communicated next week.

Commenting on today’s announcement, IRFU Director of Women’s and Sevens Rugby, Anthony Eddy, said: “We’re delighted to confirm these two Test matches against quality opposition, with both USA and Japan set to provide a big challenge during the November window.

“It’s a good opportunity for the group to get back on the pitch and also provides opportunity for other players to perform at this level and showcase their talent on the international stage.”

Ireland Captain, Ciara Griffin, said: “We’re looking forward to two Test matches on home soil this November, and we’re excited about the opportunity to play in front of our supporters again.

“The group will reassemble in the coming weeks and put the building blocks in place ahead of two big Tests.

“A Friday Night game under the lights promises to be a special occasion and we hope to see as many of our supporters as possible.”

Ireland Women Autumn Tests

Ireland v USA, Friday 12th November, 7.15 pm.

Ireland v Japan, Saturday 20th November, 3 pm.

The post Ireland Women to play USA and Japan in November appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Ireland Women kicked-off their FIBA European Championship For Small Countries campaign in Nicosia, Cyprus with a 71-point victory over Andorra.

The game marks their first match since 2019 after they were forced into a Covid-induced break, and also their first win.

Ireland started as they meant to go on with the offensive power of the side proving to be too much for the Andorran defence early on.

Dayna Finn, who was on her debut, led the side in scoring on the night with 14 points and was an important figure at the start of the game.

Finn helped her side gain a commanding 17-0 lead and James Weldon’s side marched on from there, never letting go of the advantage they had.

Edel Thornton was the thorn in the Andorrans’ sides as she racked up three steals in the first quarter alone.

Ireland upped their game in the second quarter, posting 32 points – their largest haul in any quarter.

The side’s defensive rebounds were instrumental in their attacking display as their counter-attacks proved lethal against the Andorran defence.

The Andorrans suffered an error-filled display courtesy of the hard work and tenacity of the likes of Thornton and Rachel Huijsdens.

Hower, Noah Mico Lorenzo and Cristina Andres Rabasa showed up for their country and put up double-digit points.

Through this solid defence, the Irish continued to have unanswered high-scoring runs.

The side finished the game with 36 defensive rebounds and 27 offensive rebounds, including the one that led to the lay-up Grainne O’Dwyer pounced on to break the 100-point barrier.

Weldon and co. will be impressed with their showing in the opener in Nicosia and will now look towards a game against Malta on Thursday afternoon.

Ireland: Michelle Clarke (9), Aine McKenna (10), Dayna Finn (14), Claire Rockall (7), Rachel Huijsdens (9), Grainne Dwyer (11), Edel Thornton (4), Fiona O’Dwyer (10), Claire Melia (9), Hannah Thornton (5), Sorcha Tiernan (12), Aine O’Connor (4).

Andorra: Cristina Andres Rabasa (10), Noah Mico Lorenzo (13), Laura Laurent Marrugat, Mariona Palou Vidal, Carla Solana Perez (2), Claudia Brunet Solano (6), Julia Marquez Tomas (2), Anna Mana Buscall, Patricia Meira Gallego, Mireia Magrinya Alonso, Cloe Torcuato Rodriguez (DNP).

To see the recently announced Men’s squad, click here.

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