Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald to reach Ireland milestone in Six Nations opener
Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald is set to pick up her 50th senior international cap after being selected in Ireland’s starting line-up for their Women’s Six Nations Championship opener against England at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.A debutant in a 8-3 defeat to the English at nearby Twickenham Stoop back in November 2015, Moloney-MacDonald has been given the nod by head coach Scott Bemand to start ahead of Neve Jones in the Irish frontrow.Currently a member of the Exeter Chiefs set-up in Premiership Women’s Rugby, Moloney-MacDonald is one of five English-based players to be named in the starting 15 for their trip to Twickenham.Along with her club-mate Dorothy Wall, Brittany Hogan (Sale Sharks) and Aoife Wafer (Harlequins), Gloucester-Hartpury star Ellena Perry will make her fifth appearance for Ireland at loosehead prop. This will be an interesting occasion for the former Saracens player, considering she previously accumulated 11 caps for England from 2018 to 2020.READ MOREThe Counter Ruck: the rugby newsletter from The Irish Times‘My worst money habit is buying overpriced coffee almost every day’ Are we living in rugby’s good old days?‘You’re trying to use all these few percenters’: Hugo Keenan on time well spent in a hyperbaric chamberHowever, thanks to a change in World Rugby’s eligibility rules that came into effect back in 2022, Perry was able to switch allegiances to Ireland – for whom she qualifies through her late maternal grandfather from Derry.Ellena Perry will make her fifth appearance for Ireland at loosehead prop. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Elsewhere in the team, Stacey Flood, Béibhinn Parsons and Vicky Elmes Kinlan are selected in the back-three, while Aoife Dalton and Eve Higgins continue their centre partnership that was so effective for much of the 2025 international season.Dannah O’Brien is joined at half-back by Emily Lane and in addition to Fiona Tuite linking up with the aforementioned Wall in the second-row, while Brittany Hogan, team captain Erin King and Wafer will form a potentially explosive backrow combination.Meanwhile, there is the possibility of a couple of debutants off the bench for Ireland in front of over 70,000 spectators in Twickenham on Saturday, with the uncapped duo of Eilís Cahill and Katie Whelan listed amongst the replacements.IRELAND: Stacey Flood; Béibhinn Parsons, Aoife Dalton, Eve Higgins, Vicky Elmes Kinlan; Dannah O’Brien, Emily Lane; Ellena Perry, Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald, Linda Djougang; Dorothy Wall, Fiona Tuite; Brittany Hogan, Erin King, Aoife Wafer. Replacements: Neve Jones, Niamh O’Dowd, Eilís Cahill, Ruth Campbell, Grace Moore, Katie Whelan, Nancy McGillivray, Anna McGann.Follow our rugby WhatsApp channelIf you want the latest rugby news, analysis and opinion then you should follow our dedicated WhatsApp channel. From Gerry Thornley to Owen Doyle and Gordon D’Arcy, we have every angle covered.Find the channel here.
