'It feels like full circle for me' - Doyle keen to pass on experience

Having made her Ireland debut as a 19-year-old in 2015, Aoife Doyle knows exactly what the likes of Dannah O'Brien and Aoife Dalton are going through this week.

At the time, Doyle was coming into a side that had reached a World Cup semi-final, and would go on to win a second Six Nations crown that season. And while Ireland's status among the world's elite has fallen dramatically since then, Test rugby is still a daunting proposition for a teenager.

At 18 and 19-years old respectively, O'Brien and Dalton have been handed their first Irish caps in this Saturday's Test with Japan in Shizuoka (11am Irish time), while fellow backline debutants Natasja Behan and Méabh Deely aren't much older.

Doyle may only have 10 caps to her name, in large part down to multiple years playing Sevens exclusively, but in terms of rugby experience the 27-year-old has plenty to offer the new arrivals.

"Although I've been around for years, I obviously went in between the two programmes. I'm a veteran, but in terms of caps, I'm definitely not," the Railway Union wing said this afternoon, ahead of Saturday's tour opener.

"I know how people have helped me when I first came into the programme and how they've brought me on around them. It's something that I wanted to do with the new girls that have come in. I'm very excited for them to see how they go on Saturday after all the hard work they've put in."

With so many players either injured or unavailable due to Sevens commitments, the Irish squad currently in Japan is one containing a wide rage of both ages and international experience.

As such, Doyle (above) says a cohort of the experienced players in the group have taken it on themselves to make the newcomers feel at home.

"When I first came in I was very