Djougang back on IRFU centralised contract as 31 players handed deals

Linda Djougang of Leinster hugs Beth Buttimer of Munster. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile

Ireland tighthead prop Linda Djougang has returned to a centralised contract as one of 31 players named on Friday as having signed an IRFU deal within the Women’s High Performance Programme.

Djougang, capped 57 times by Ireland, had been centrally contracted on her return from a spell in French club rugby in 2022 but the qualified nurse stepped away to concentrate on her career while continuing to play for Old Belvedere, Leinster and the national team.

The 30-year-old has now rejoined ahead of the 2026-27 international season, which starts with next month’s WXV Global Series at home to USA and Japan, and is one of 12 Leinster women in the centrally contracted group named by the IRFU.

Provincial team-mate and lock Kate Jordan is one of four players, all forwards, to have been awarded their first national contracts, with Ulster prop Sophie Barrett, and Munster duo Aoibheann McGrath and Eilís Cahill, who made her Ireland debut during last season’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations also joining the full-time programme based at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Abbottstown, west Dublin.

IRFU Head of Women’s Performance and Pathways, Gillian McDarby, said: “The full-time centralised programme continues to evolve and develop as we look to create the strongest possible High-Performance environment for our players and build towards our long-term ambitions for the women’s game.

“A key part of that is identifying, developing and retaining the best young talent in Irish Rugby, and we’re particularly excited to welcome four young forwards into the programme. They have shown huge potential and bringing them into a full-time environment will give them the opportunity to accelerate their development, while also increasing competition and depth within the group.

“The announcement of this contracted group is not the end of that process. The Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship provides another important opportunity for players across the four Provinces to put their hands up, and there is scope for further contracts to be awarded to players who impress during the Championship.

“We want to continue driving standards throughout the programme and create a competitive environment where players are consistently challenged to develop and perform. That competition, alongside a strong pathway from the domestic and provincial game into the national programme, will be hugely important as we continue to move forward in this cycle.” 

Ireland head coach Scott Bemand will name his squad following the conclusion of the Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship at the end of this month with his side set to play three home matches in September.

Dublin’s Tallaght Stadium will host its first Women’s Test match when Ireland open their WXV Global Series campaign against USA on Sunday, September 20, before moving west to meet Japan at Galway’s Dexcom Stadium on September 27.

Additionally, Bemand’s side will play Japan outside the WXV Global Series window at Virgin Media Park in Cork on Saturday, October 3, ahead of a two-match series against South Africa in Cape Town on October 24 and 31.

Ireland Women’s Centrally Contracted Players - 2026-27: Jemima Adams Verling (Connacht), Sophie Barrett (Ulster), Ellen Boylan (Munster), Beth Buttimer (Munster), Eilis Cahill (Munster), Ruth Campbell (Leinster), Hannah Clarke (Connacht), Amee-Leigh Costigan, Aoife Dalton (Leinster), Linda Djougang (Leinster), Caitriona Finn (Munster), Stacey Flood (Leinster), Eve Higgins (Leinster), Kate Jordan (Leinster), Erin King (Leinster), Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Leinster), Emily Lane (Munster), Lucia Linn (Munster), Anna McGann (Connacht), Sadhbh McGrath (Ulster), Aoibheann McGrath (Munster), Alana McInerney (Munster), Jane Neill (Leinster), Dannah O’Brien (Leinster), Robyn O'Connor (Leinster), Beibhinn Parsons (Connacht), Ailish Quinn (Connacht), Aoibheann Reilly (Connacht), Fiona Tuite-O’Sullivan (Ulster), Chisom Ugwueru (Munster), Katie Whelan (Leinster).