Ireland to play Italy at the Aviva Stadium

The historic match was confirmed as an extended squad of 33 players was announced by the Ireland women's management as they prepare for their defence of their title.  The squad includes a number of seasoned internationals alongside some new faces who have emerged this season.Head Coach, Philip Doyle said: "Selecting a squad is always hard and this year has to be without doubt the hardest yet.  Selection has been based on the players form throughout the AIL matches, including the English premiership matches where a lot of the exiles players are playing their rugby, and the inter-pro series which concluded at the weekend.”"Some new faces have made this year's squad which is always a good sign that the competition and standards are rising still.”"We look forward to working with all the players in the coming weeks in preparation for this year's RBS 6 Nations where, of course, we will be doing our very best to defend our title, at the same time making sure that we also use these very important games to very good use with the World Cup 2014 looming very large in the not so distance future”Ireland open their campaign with a home fixture against Scotland on Friday, 31st January in Ashbourne RFC.

Seperately Ireland have also appointed  Gillian McDarby as National Women's Sevens Team Manager. She joins the IRFU from Cycling Ireland where she held the position of Women's National Development Coach.  At Cycling Ireland, Gillian was responsible for athlete performance analysis, delivery and monitoring of athlete training programmes and working with coaches on athlete development as part of the Talent 2020 initiative.Ireland Women's SquadAshleigh Baxter (Belfast Harlequins /Ulster)Gill Bourke (UL Bohemians/Munster)Niamh Briggs (UL Bohemians/Munster)Lynne Cantwell (Richmond /Exile)Hannah Casey (Saracens/Exile)*Fiona Coghlan (UL Bohemians/Leinster)Kerri –Ann Craddock (Saracens/Exile)*Amy Davis (Blackrock /Ulster)Grace Davitt (Cooke/Ulster)Ailis Egan (Old Belvedere/Leinster)Paula Fitzpatrick (St. Mary's/Leinster)Orla Fitzsimmons (St. Mary's/Leinster)*Siobhan Fleming (Tralee/Munster)Laura Guest (Highfield/Munster)Fiona Hayes (UL Bohemians/Munster)Ashling Hutchings (UL Bohemians/Munster)*Jemma Jackson (Queens University/Ulster)*Stacey-Lea Kennedy (Cooke/Ulster)Sharon Lynch (Old Belvedere/Leinster)*Vikkie Mc Ginn (Blackrock /Leinster)*Alison Miller (Portlaoise RFC/UCC/Connacht)Sarah Mimnagh (Richmond/Exile)*Claire Molloy (Bristol/Connacht)Larissa Muldoon (Bristol/Exile)Jenny Murphy (Old Belvedere/Leinster)Heather O' Brien (Highfield/Munster)Ruth O'Reilly (Galwegians/Connacht)Geraldine Rae (Highfield/Munster)Marie –Louise Reilly (Old Belvedere/Leinster)Jackie Shiels (Richmond/Exile)Juliet Short (Newcastle/Exile)*Sophie Spence (Old Belvedere/Leinster)Nora Stapleton (Old Belvedere/Leinster)* Denotes uncapped player