Three Chiefs Women in Ireland’s World Cup squad

Three Exeter Chiefs Women’s players have been named in Ireland’s squad ahead of the Rugby World Cup which kicks off in less than two weeks.

Nanay McGillivray, Edel ‘Tricky’ McMahon and Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald have all been selected to wear the green jersey for the 2025 tournament.

Flanker and Ireland co-captain McMahon, who is well on the road to recovery after surgery in spring, said: "It’s an incredible honour to be selected, especially heading into my first World Cup. It represents not just personal achievement, but the years of hard work, sacrifice, and the support of everyone who's been part of my journey. Wearing the jersey on the world stage is a privilege we don’t take lightly, and I’m proud to represent my country with everything I’ve got."

The Ireland squad selection means centre McGillivray has been named after just one appearance for her recently adopted nation. Formerly a contracted transition player for England, McGillivray made the switch to Ireland in the summer as her father is Irish.

Meanwhile, this will be hooker Moloney-MacDonald’s second Rugby World Cup after featuring in the 2017 tournament. Former Chiefs players James Scaysbrook and Gareth Steenson are also a part of the coaching team led by Scott Bemand.

Bemand said: “When we qualified for the Rugby World Cup in April 2024, we knew it gave us a solid amount of time to prepare for the tournament. We have used that time to build depth and cultivate our “Green Wave”. The majority of this squad have now been together since the start of June, and we are excited to finally get going.”

The women in green lost 26-47 to Canada at the Affidea Stadium in Belfast on Saturday in the last round of warm-up games for the World Cup. 

This game saw another try from Chiefs’ powerhouse prop DaLeaka Menin and a 60^th cap for Alex Tessier. Captain Tessier became just the fifth player in Canadian women’s rugby history to reach the milestone, alongside Tyson Beukeboom, Gillian Florence, Menin, and Olivia DeMerchant. Emily Tuttosi also came off the bench for Canada.

The result means Canada will officially begin the Rugby World Cup ranked second in the world with them surpassing the 90-point mark in the World Rugby Women’s Rankings for the first time since the system was introduced in February 2016.

Canada play Scotland at Sandy Park on Saturday, 6 September (KO 12:00). This game is the first half of a double header with Wales v Fiji kicking off at 14:45 on the same day. Tickets can be purchased from the Rugby World Cup website here.

Ireland Rugby World Cup 2025 squad