Ireland head coach Scott Bemand makes two changes for first of two WXV Global Series matches in Cape Town

Ireland head coach Scott Bemand has made two changes for Saturday’s WXV Global Series clash with South Africa in Cape Town (kick-off 2pm Irish time, live on TG4).

Stacey Flood returns at fullback in place of Niamh Gallagher, while Dorothy Wall is named in the secondrow, with Fiona Tuite-O’Sullivan moving from lock to blindside flanker. Brittany Hogan switches from number six to number eight with Jemima Adams Verling named on the bench.

Ireland lost their opening game in the WXV Global Series to the United States at Tallaght Stadium 36-40 before beating Japan 31-24 at the Dexcom Stadium. They also beat Japan 43-19 in a Test match in Cork that was not part of the WXV competition.

The Ireland squad arrived in South Africa last week ahead of the first of two games against the Springbok Women at Athlone Stadium.

Bemand said: “We have reset well after the recent home block of fixtures and are ready to embrace the challenge of playing away from home. The squad have worked incredibly hard since arriving here in Cape Town last week, and there is a real determination to continue to evolve and develop our game during this tour.

“Testing ourselves in difficult environments against top-quality opposition is vital to our development, and we want to see that resilience and character come through in our performance on Saturday. We know the challenge South Africa will bring, but we are excited by the opportunity.”

IRELAND (v South Africa): Stacey Flood (Railway Union/Leinster); Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College/Connacht), Anna McGann (Railway Union RFC/Connacht), Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Robyn O’Connor (Old Belvedere/Leinster); Dannah O’Brien (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Emily Lane (Blackrock College/Munster); Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury), Eilís Cahill (UL Bohemian/Munster); Jane Clohessy (UL Bohemian/Munster), Dorothy Wall (Exeter Chiefs); Fiona Tuite-O’Sullivan (Old Belvedere/Ulster), Erin King (Old Belvedere/Leinster) (capt), Brittany Hogan (Sale Sharks).

Replacements: Beth Buttimer (UL Bohemian/Munster), Niamh O’Dowd (Gloucester-Hartpury), Sadhbh McGrath (Cooke/Ulster), Kate Jordan (Blackrock College/Leinster), Grace Moore (Munster), Jemima Adams Verling (Galwegians/Connacht), Aoibheann Reilly (Blackrock College/Connacht), Eve Higgins (Railway Union/Leinster).