Five Uncapped Players Named In Ireland Squad For Women’s Six Nations

Ireland head coach Tom Tierney has named five uncapped players in his squad for the 2017 Women's Six Nations Championship.

Props Ilse van Staden (Ulster) and Ciara O'Connor (Connacht) as well as scrum half Ailsa Hughes (Leinster), out-half Jemma Jackson (Ulster) and winger Eimear Considine (Munster) will all be hoping to win their first caps throughout the tournament which gets underway with a match against Scotland in Glasgow on Friday February 3.

Squad Announced For @Womens6Nations #BringIt https://t.co/E8387HgBaS pic.twitter.com/veEIkm0ADA
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) January 26, 2017

Ireland will once again be captained by Niamh Briggs who led the Girls in Green to the Six Nations title in 2015.

This year, for the first time in Women's Six Nations history, all of Ireland's games will be broadcast live on RTÉ.

It's a massive year for women's rugby in the country as Dublin and Belfast are set to host the 2017 Women's World Cup this August.

The full squad list reads as follows:

Backs (13):

Niamh Briggs (UL Bohemians/Munster) (capt)
Eimear Considine (UL Bohemians/Munster) *
Mairead Coyne (Galwegians/Connacht)
Aine Donnelly (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Mary Healy (Galwegians/Connacht)
Ailsa Hughes (Railway Union/Leinster) *
Jemma Jackson (Cooke/Ulster) *
Niamh Kavanagh (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Claire McLaughlin (Cooke/Ulster)
Alison Miller (Old Belvedere/Connacht)
Jenny Murphy (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Sene Naoupu (Aylesford Bulls)
Nora Stapleton (Old Belvedere/Leinster)

Forwards (17):

Elaine Anthony (Highfield/Munster)
Anna Caplice (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Ciara Cooney (Railway Union/Leinster)
Ailis Egan (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Paula Fitzpatrick (St. Mary's/Leinster)

Orla Fitzsimons (St. Mary's/Leinster)
Nichola Fryday (Tullamore/Connacht)
Ciara Griffin (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Leah Lyons (Highfield/Munster)
Claire Molloy (Bristol/Connacht)
Cliodhna Moloney (Railway Union/Leinster)
Heather O'Brien (Highfield/Munster)
Ciara O'Connor (Galwegians/Connacht) *
Ruth O'Reilly (Galwegians/Connacht)
Lindsay Peat (Railway Union/Leinster)
Marie Louise Reilly (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Ilse van Staden (Cooke/Ulster) *

* Denotes uncapped player

(credit irishrugby.ie)