Ireland make two changes for Spain showdown in WXV3

Scott Bemand has made two changes to the Ireland starting team to face Spain in the final round of WXV3 at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai on Saturday.

The Irish side go into the match off the back of emphatic victories over Kazakhstan and Colombia in the third tier of the inaugural competition.

Dorothy Wall replaces Eimear Corri in the second row, starting alongside co-captain Sam Monaghan, while Molly Scuffil-McCabe is at scrum-half instead of Aoibheann Reilly, with Dannah O'Brien at ten.

The front row is made up of Linda Djougang, Neve Jones and Christy Haney, while co-captain and openside flanker Edel McMahon is joined in the back row by Grace Moore and Brittany Hogan.

Natasja Behan and Beibhinn Parsons will start on the wings, while Meabh Deely is at full-back.

Ireland go into Saturday's match atop the WXV3 standings above Spain who have also won two from two. But Bemand's side are one point ahead and with a superior points difference which means avoiding defeat will be enough to stay at the summit.

"Competition for places in this final round squad has been high, this is exactly where we want to be," said Bemand.

"It has taken 31 players to get to this point and both this squad and individuals have grown over these three weeks.

"We have previous history with Spain and we know this will be a level up of competition that this squad needs to test itself against.

"It's great to see Aoife Wafer back in the group, after some time away from international rugby and looking forward to seeing what this team’s best performance can look like."

Ireland: Méabh Deely; Natasja Behan, Eve Higgins, Aoife Dalton, Béibhinn Parsons; Dannah O'Brien, Molly Scuffil-McCabe; Linda Djougang, Neve Jones, Christy Haney; Dorothy Wall, Sam Monaghan; Grace