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 Ben Brady/INPHO LIVE: Ireland v Japan, Women's Rugby World Cup Scott Bemand’s side begin their campaign in Northampton at 12pm. 11.16am, 24 Aug 2025 Share options Two years into Scott Bemand’s reign, and Ireland are in a decent place having spent the previous six years in the doldrums. The women in green are heavy favourites today, and it’s essential that they start their tournament on the right foot. Big crowd in Northampton Saints’ home stadium. Temperature in the low to mid-20s but with a nice breeze. Ireland’s Call on the way now. Let’s go! Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO 16 mins ago Co-captains Sam Monaghan and Edel McMahon return to Ireland’s starting team as Bemand makes four changes to his side who lost out to World Cup contenders Canada in their final warm-up game. The Asian champions were on a five-game win streak until they ran into Italy last day, and have been building towards this for a long time in their own right. In that five-game run, they beat pool rivals Spain twice and earned a first ever win over the USA. A huge game for both sides in Northampton this afternoon. Edel McMahon and Sam Monaghan.Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO IRELAND: Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC); Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht), Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC), Amee-Leigh Costigan (Railway Union RFC/Munster); Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Aoibheann Reilly (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht); Niamh O’Dowd (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury), Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Ruth Campbell (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Sam Monaghan (Gloucester-Hartpury/IQ Rugby) (co-capt), Fiona Tuite (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster), Edel McMahon (Exeter Chiefs/Connacht) (co-capt), Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster). Replacements: Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald (Exeter Chiefs), Ellena Perry (Gloucester-Hartpury/IQ Rugby), Sadhbh McGrath (Cooke RFC/Ulster), Eimear Corri Fallon (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster), Grace Moore (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby), Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC), Enya Breen (Blackrock College RFC/Munster), Anna McGann (Railway Union RFC/Connacht). JAPAN: Sora Nishimura (Mie Pearls); Misaki Matsumara (Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix), Mana Furuta (Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix), Haruka Hirotsu (Nanairo Prism Fukuoka), Komachi Imakugi (Arukas Queen Kumagaya); Ayasa Otsuka (Arukas Queen Kumagaya), Moe Tsukui (Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars); Sachiko Kato (Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars), Asuka Kuge (Arukas Queen Kumagaya), Wako Kitano (Mie Pearls), Yuna Sato (Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix), Otoka Yoshimura (Arukas Queen Kumagaya), Masami Kawamura (Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars), Iroha Nagata (Arukas Queen Kumagaya) (capt), Seina Saito (Mie Pearls). Replacements: Kotomi Taniguchi (Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars), Manami Mine (Nippon Sport Science University), Nijiho Nagata (Mie Pearls), Ayana Sakurai (Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars), Kyoko Hosokawa (Mie Pearls), Megumi Abe (Arukas Queen Kumagaya), Minori Yamamoto (Yokohama TKM), Sakurako Hatada (Nippon Sport Science University). Referee: Clara Munarini (FIR) 22 mins ago Good morning! Welcome, everyone, to The 42′s live coverage of Ireland’s Women’s World Cup opener against Japan. Well, after an eight-year wait, Ireland are back at the big show. They face Japan today before subsequent meetings with Spain and New Zealand. Two wins will earn a quarter-final. Scott Bemand’s side kick off at Franklin’s Gardens at 12pm. Strap in, sit back, and relax. It’s Gavan Casey with you here and I’ll bring you live updates from the game throughout the afternoon! Sam Monaghan.Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO Advertisement Gavan Casey View 3 comments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “LIVE: Ireland v Japan, Women's Rugby World Cup”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “LIVE: Ireland v Japan, Women's Rugby World Cup”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. Racism or Hate speech An attack on an individual or group based on religion, race, gender, or beliefs. Trolling or Off-topic An attempt to derail the discussion. 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