Leinster stars clash in Energia AIL Dublin derby

Just two weeks after guiding Leinster to Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship glory, Tania Rosser and Hannah O’Connor are on opposing sides in today’s big Dublin derby that kicks off the Energia All-Ireland League season.

Leinster captain O’Connor will lead Blackrock College into battle against Old Belvedere at Stradbrook (kick-off 5pm), with the start of their Women’s Division title defence being live streamed on Irish Rugby TV.

With Johnny Garth not involved this season, Rosser takes charge of a youthful Belvedere team that will be hoping to go one step further this season after falling at the semi-final hurdle last December.

There are some notable absentees due to the Ireland Women’s 15s squad preparing for next month’s WX3 tournament. New head coach Scott Bemand has also brought in some fringe players to train at the IRFU High Performance Centre.

While Blackrock and Belvedere are both without a number of regular starters, including their Ireland Sevens contingent, it is very much a case of opportunity knocks for those who are stepping up in their place this evening.

Blackrock have also assembled a new coaching set-up following Ben Martin’s move to Exeter Chiefs as skills coach for their Women’s team.