Photo via BBC Sport

Adams Verling handed Ireland debut for WXV opener

Connacht forward Jemima Adams Verling has earned her initial senior international cap for Ireland's WXV Global Series launch against the United States at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin, marking the inaugural women's rugby Test staged at the venue. The 20-year-old, who previously stood out in the Celtic Challenge with the Clovers and featured in the U18 and U21 Six Nations setups without seeing action in the senior tournament earlier this year, joins skipper Erin King and tournament MVP Aoife Wafer across the loose forwards.

Head coach Scott Bemand has paired front-rowers Niamh O'Dowd, Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald, and Linda Djougang ahead of locks Dorothy Wall and Fiona Tuite-O'Sullivan, the latter stepping into the engine room due to Sam Monaghan's injury absence. Behind the scrum, half-backs Emily Lane and Dannah O'Brien run the offense inside midfielders Aoife Dalton and Eve Higgins, while full-back Stacey Flood anchors an outside trio featuring wingers Vicky Elmes Kinlan and Robyn O'Connor, who notched two tries during the Six Nations.

Providing depth from the bench are reserve forwards Neve Jones, Sadhbh McGrath, Eilis Cahill, Jane Clohessy, and five-try Six Nations performer Brittany Hogan, complemented by backline covers Aoibheann Reilly, Anna McGann, and Niamh Gallagher. Following Sunday's 13:45 BST kickoff, Ireland will take on Japan in back-to-back encounters across Galway and Cork on 27 September and 3 October, the opener counting toward the WXV competition.