Ulster girls Larissa Muldoon (second from right) and Stacey-lea Kennedy (fourth from left) will be joined by a few familiar faces in the Irish set up this season.
After an improved Inter Provincial Series in September nine Ulster girls have made the recently announced Ireland Training Squad. They will now begin a 10-week strength and conditioning programme and all players will then be fitness tested in mid-December before the final Six Nations panel of 26 will begin training for the upcoming campaign.
It’s a huge boost for Ulster Women’s rugby who have more than doubled their representation compared to last season and it’s a strong endorsement of Ulster Women’s Coach Benjy Van Der Byl’s strategy to give youth a chance throughout the Inter Provincial Series and the recent “development” games.
Three Ulster sides are represented with Belfast Harlequins duo Nikki Caughey and Ashleigh Baxter, who we profiled last year, getting the call up. The wonderfully talented Caughey will be looking to make an impact in the centre and hard tackling Baxter will be pushing for inclusion in the back three.
City of Derry pair Stacey-lea Kennedy and Glenda Mellon will be representing the Judges Road outfit. It’s Kennedy’s second season and she must be one of the most improved players in Irish Rugby over the last year, with the hooker making the most of her chance to train with the Ireland squad last season, culminating in three Ireland caps. Mellon has been one of those unsung heroes in the second row and receives her call up after a few seasons of dedicated service for City of Derry and Ulster.
Cooke throw Grace Davitt, Lauren Day and Eliza Downey into the mix with all three now veterans of the Ireland set up. It’s a welcome return for Davitt who’s career has received a welcome boost after impressively orchestrating Ulster’s youngsters in the back line this season. Downey returns to the squad after last seasons injury with the Cooke flyer keen to get her international career back on track and Day has a great chance to make the front row her own now she is back home this season.
Ulster Exiles Larissa Muldoon and Poppy Cleall make up the rest of the Ulster representation. Muldoon took the International series by storm with the composed scrum half slipping comfortably into the International set up last season winning a starting spot for Ireland for the final Six Nations game against England after impressive displays off the bench. Irish qualified Cleall was persuaded to switch from the English U20′s set up to Ulster this summer and the big back row player with silky hands will be keen to impress. One of the big characters in the Ulster squad, part time rap star Cleall will be looking to make as big an impact on the pitch as much as she does off it!
The Front Row Union would like to congratulate the individual players and all concerned with the Ulster Women’s set up for this huge boost to the local women’s game.
IRELAND WOMEN’S TRAINING SQUAD: Christine Arthurs (Tralee), Ashleigh Baxter (Belfast Harlequins), Gillian Bourke (UL Bohemians), Niamh Briggs (UL Bohemians), Helen Brosnan (Highfield), Lynne Cantwell (Exile), Nikki Caughey (Belfast Harlequins), Poppy Cleall (Ulster/Bristol), Fiona Coghlan (UL Bohemians), Leigh Dargan (Exile), Amy Davis (Blackrock), Grace Davitt (Cooke), Lauren Day (Cooke), Eliza Downey (Cooke), Ailish Egan (Old Belvedere), Paula Fitzpatrick (St. Mary’s), Orla Fitzsimmons (St. Mary’s), Laura Guest (Highfield), Laura Hailey (Old Belvedere), Fiona Hayes (UL Bohemians), Nat Hewitt (Exile), Shannon Houston (Blackrock), Aisling Hutchings (UL Bohemians), Niamh Kavanagh (UL Bohemians), Stacey-Lea Kennedy (City of Derry), Glenda Mellon (City of Derry), Alison Miller (Portlaoise), Claire Molloy (Bristol), Larissa Muldoon (Ulster/UWIC), Joy Neville (UL Bohemians), Gill Nolan (St. Mary’s), Deirdre O’Brien (Blackrock), Heather O’Brien (Highfield), Laura O’Mahony (Tralee), Ruth O’Reilly (Galwegians), Marie Louise Reilly (Old Belvedere), Geraldine Rea (Highfield), Tania Rosser (Blackrock), Jackie Shiels (Exile), Juliet Short (Exile), Sophie Spencer (Exile), Nora Stapleton (Old Belvedere), Carol Staunton (Galwegians), Jade Wong (Exile)
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