Moloney-MacDonalds get ready to face each other for the first time

Claudia and Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald will face each other for the first time at international level this weekend.

Married last summer, the M-Ms will now don the jerseys for their respective countries as they prepare to play each other in the first round of the Guinness Women’s Six Nations in front of a packed Twickenham Allianz Stadium on Saturday (KO 14:25).

Claudia has been selected to start on the wing for Red Roses for the first time since she ran out against Samoa in the Rugby World Cup last year.

She said: “I’m really excited to kick off this Six Nations with England. We’d love to build from where we left off at the World Cup, continuing to push and develop our game further, which hopefully you’ll see throughout the competition.”

Meanwhile, Cliodhna will also start for Ireland, bringing all her experience and physicality with her to this fixture while earning her 50th cap along the way. She is just the 16th women’s Ireland player to reach this milestone.

Having played in the same teams, Wasps then Exeter Chiefs, the Moloney-MacDonalds are used to playing and training alongside each other, but Saturday’s fixture will be a milestone in their careers and their relationship.

Claudia said: “Of course, it’s a strange concept playing against your wife in an international rugby game. The times we’ve trained against each other can even get heated. That’s what happens when you’re both fiercely competitive and know each other so well.

“But to be honest, we’re both professionals, we love what we do, we both want to win, and we’ll both do whatever we can to make that happen for our own teams. Let’s just hope we can remember we’re still married once the final whistle goes!”

Elsewhere on the pitch Maddie Feaunati will start in the back row for the Red Roses while Dorothy Wall returns to international action for Ireland at lock. Nancy McGillivray will start the game on the bench.