Ireland head coach Adam Griggs has called on his side to make a bright start to their Women’s Six Nations campaign on Sunday.
Scotland visit Energia Park and Ireland have named a well-balanced side for the opening game of this year’s Championship.
Having seen Ireland struggle in the 2019 Women’s Six Nations, Griggs is keen for his side to make marked improvements this time round and believes they have prepared well enough to do so.
“We’ve made no secret that last season’s results were not good enough and having a home game first up is the best possible way to start,” he said.
“We want to make sure Energia Park is a hard place for travelling teams to come and play so we must put our words into action and apply pressure from the start.
“Scotland first up is a huge game for us. We are well aware what they can bring, and simply, we need to be on our game and deliver our best performance yet to get the tournament off to a winning start.”
While Griggs has been able to name a strong squad, which features the likes of Aoife Doyle, Beibhinn Parsons and Michelle Clafey, his preparation has been hampered by injury.
Griggs feels his squad has the quality required to thrive in the Championship in spite of the injuries suffered and hailed the strength in depth he has at his disposal.
He said: “The depth that we have built in the squad gives other squad members an opportunity to go out and express themselves.
“We have full confidence that those players stepping up will produce a quality performance.”
Enya Breen and Eimear Considine will both miss the clash after picking up knocks at last week’s training camp.
Ciara Griffin will captain the team as she joins a back row which also features Edel McMahon and Anna Caplice.
Ireland XV: 15 Lauren Delany, 14 Aoife Doyle, 13 Sene Naoupu, 12 Michelle Claffey, 11 Beibhinn Parsons, 10 Ellen Murphy, 9 Kathryn Dane, 1 Lindsay Peat, 2 Cliodhna Moloney, 3 Linda Djougang, 4 Aoife McDermott, 5 Nichola Fryday, 6 Ciara Griffin, 7 Edel McMahon, 8 Anna Caplice
Replacements: 16 Victoria Dabanovich O’Mahony, 17 Laura Feely, 18 Leah Lyons, 19 Ciara Cooney, 20 Dorothy Wall, 21 Nicole Cronin, 22 Claire Keohane, *23 Laura Sheehan
