Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Edel McMahon, Amee-Leigh Costigan, Neve Jones and Niamh O’Dowd all start against Japan.Ben Brady/INPHO FreeWRWC 2025 Ireland name team for Women's Rugby World Cup opener against Japan Scott Bemand’s side kick-off their Pool C campaign in Northampton on Sunday. 10.52am, 22 Aug 2025 Share options IRELAND HEAD COACH Scott Bemand has named his team for Sunday’s Women’s Rugby World Cup opener against Japan in Northampton [KO 12pm, RTÉ 2/BBC 2]. Sam Monaghan co-captains the side with Edel McMahon, who starts having missed the two World Cup warm-up games against Scotland and Canada through injury. Stacey Flood is named at fullback, with Béibhinn Parsons and Amee-Leigh Costigan on the wings. Advertisement Eve Higgins and Aoife Dalton are the starting centres, with Dannah O’Brien at out-half and Aoibheann Reilly getting the nod at scrum-half. Niamh O’Dowd, Neve Jones and Linda Djougang start in the front row, while Ruth Campbell partners Monaghan in the second row. McMahon returns from injury at openside, with Fiona Tuite and Brittany Hogan completing the back row. On the bench, Bemand has named Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald, Ellena Perry, Sadhbh McGrath, Eimear Corri-Fallon and Grace Moore as his forward replacements, while Emily Lane, Enya Breen and Anna McGann cover the backs. Following Sunday’s game at Franklin’s Gardens, Ireland will take on Spain (31 August) and New Zealand (7 September) as they look to advance from Pool C and reach the knock-out stages. Ireland (v Japan): 15.⁠ ⁠Stacey Flood (20 caps) 14.⁠ ⁠Béibhinn Parsons (28) 13.⁠ ⁠Aoife Dalton (24) 12.⁠ ⁠Eve Higgins (28) 11.⁠ ⁠Amee-Leigh Costigan (19) 10.⁠ ⁠Dannah O’Brien (26) 9.⁠ ⁠Aoibheann Reilly (16)  1.⁠ ⁠Niamh O’Dowd (17)  2.⁠ ⁠Neve Jones (37)  3.⁠ ⁠Linda Djougang (48)  4.⁠ ⁠Ruth Campbell (8)  5.⁠ ⁠Sam Monaghan (23) – co-captain  6.⁠ ⁠Fiona Tuite (17)  7.⁠ ⁠Edel McMahon (34) – co-captain  8.⁠ ⁠Brittany Hogan (34) Replacements: 16.⁠ ⁠Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald (45) 17.⁠ ⁠Ellena Perry (1) 18.⁠ ⁠Sadhbh McGrath (16) 19.⁠ ⁠Eimear Corri-Fallon (6) 20.⁠ ⁠Grace Moore (22) 21.⁠ ⁠Emily Lane (17) 22.⁠ ⁠Enya Breen (31) 23.⁠ ⁠Anna McGann (11) Ciarán Kennedy Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Ireland name team for Women's Rugby World Cup opener against Japan”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Ireland name team for Women's Rugby World Cup opener against Japan”. 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