McGillivray to make Ireland debut

Exeter Chiefs centre Nancy McGillivray will make her debut for Ireland this weekend just a few months after swapping to the green jersey.

Chiefs’ hooker Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald will also start as Ireland will take on Scotland in their first Rugby World Cup warm up game at Virgin Media Park on Saturday (KO 14:00).

Formerly a contracted transition player for England, McGillivray made the switch to Ireland in the summer as her father is Irish.

McGillivray said: "I am incredibly honoured and grateful to be earning my first cap for Ireland this weekend. It’s been a challenging few weeks of hard work and tough training, but the support from the girls in camp has been incredible. I’ve learned so much from the players around me, and I’m beyond excited to pull on the green jersey. Super excited to get out there and make my family proud!"

Exeter Chiefs’ head coach Steve Salvin said: "As a club, we are very proud to see Nancy pull on the green jersey. She was a constant part of our squad last season after being out for the entire season before with a serious knee injury, so this is testament to all the hard work she put in while she rehabbed after surgery. With her father being Irish, Nancy had an opportunity to pursue a different path for international rugby. I am sure she will grab this opportunity with both hands."

Head coach Scott Bemand has also handed debuts to Ivana Kiripati in the back row and Ailish Quinn on the bench. Sam Monaghan returns to captain the side after a lengthy lay off following an ACL injury sustained in the PWR final in June 2024.

Bemand said: “This is the first real opportunity for players to put their hands up for World Cup selection, and that’s brought great intensity to our work in camp. We’ve seen real growth in this group since we assembled at the start of June, and now it’s about transferring that onto the pitch.

“There’s a lot of competition for places, which is exactly what we want heading into a major tournament. Scotland are a quality side, and our recent encounters have all been tight, physical battles — that’s the kind of test we need as we build towards the Rugby World Cup.”

Meanwhile, Maddie Feaunati will start No 8 for England in their friendly against Spain being played at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, also on Saturday (KO 15:00). Hope Rogers will start the USA’s game against Canada on Friday night (19:00 local time) in Ottawa when she will face club teammates DaLeaka Menin and Alex Tessier.