Costigan captains Ireland for French test 

Ireland head coach Scott Bemand. Pic: Ben Brady/Inpho

Head Coach Scott Bemand has named his Ireland side for Saturday's Guinness Women's Six Nations opener against France at Kingspan Stadium (kick-off 1pm).

Ireland get their 2025 Championship campaign underway on home soil in Belfast this weekend as France visit for the Round 1 encounter.

Bemand has named Amee-Leigh Costigan as captain and Neve Jones as vice-captain as the on-pitch leaders, with squad captain Edel McMahon set to come on as a finisher.

It'll be the first time Costigan captains Ireland in a Test match having previously led Ireland Sevens on the HSBC SVNS Series.

Stacey Flood, Anna McGann and Costigan are named in the Ireland back three, with Eve Higgins and Aoife Dalton making up the midfield pairing, while Emily Lane starts at scrum-half to partner Dannah O'Brien in the half backs.

In the pack, Niamh O'Dowd, Neve Jones and Linda Djougang start in the front row, with Ruth Campbell, who makes her Championship debut in green, and Dorothy Wall in the engine room.

Brittany Hogan is at blindside flanker, Erin King - the World Rugby Women's Breakthrough Player of the Year - makes her Six Nations debut at openside and Aoife Wafer completes Ireland's starting XV.

Bemand has strong options among the replacements with Cliodhna Moloney, Siobhan McCarthy, Christy Haney, Grace Moore, Fiona Tuite and squad captain McMahon providing the forward reinforcements, while Aoibheann Reilly and Enya Breen are the backline replacements.

Speaking ahead of the match, Bemand said: "We are really excited to get our 2025 season underway in front of our home crowd in Belfast this Saturday, and no better challenge to start with than the visit of a very talented France side. 

"We have had a strong block of preparation leading into the Championship and the intensity of training and competition for places within the Match Day Squad has driven standards in camp.

"Building on from our WXV1 campaign last Autumn, we're now focused on producing a performance this Saturday and showcasing further growth and evolution in our game at the start of a very exciting year for Irish Rugby."

Ireland: S. Flood, A. McGann, A. Dalton, E. Higgins, A-L. Costigan, D. O’Brien, E. Lane, N. O’Dowd, N. Jones, L. Djougang, R. Campbell, D. Wall, B. Hogan, E. King, A. Wafer.

Replacements: C. Moloney, S. McCarthy, C. Haney, G. Moore, F. Tuite, E. McMahon, A. Reilly, E. Breen.