Scott Bemand hands Ireland debut to Corrigan against France

Katie Corrigan will make her Ireland debut against France in Saturday's Guinness Women’s Six Nations opener, while Sevens players Béibhinn Parsons and Eve Higgins are in the starting XV.

Corrigan is selected on the wing for her first cap, with the 19-year-old having impressed head coach Scott Bemand during the recent Celtic Challenge competition.

Edel McMahon will captain the side from the back row, as co-captain Sam Monaghan is continuing her return-to-play protocols.

Corrigan is joined in the back three by Lauren Delany at full-back with Parsons (below) on the other wing.

Nicole Fowley starts at out-half, marking her return to the Championship for the first time since 2019.

Fowley made her international comeback in October for the WXV3 series in Dubai against Kazakhstan.

Aoife Dalton and Higgins make up the centre pairing.

Molly Scuffil-McCabe, Dannah O’Brien and Méabh Deely provide the backline reinforcements on the bench.

Up front, Linda Djougang, Neve Jones and Christy Haney make up the front row, with Dorothy Wall and Hannah O’Connor in the second row.

McMahon is joined in the backrow by Aoife Wafer and Brittany Hogan.

Sarah Delaney, Niamh O’Dowd, Sadhbh McGrath, Fiona Tuite and Grace Moore give Bemand strong options from the bench.

"We are all very excited to get our Guinness Women’s Six Nations campaign under way and we come into this weekend ready to put a confident performance out there," said Bemand.

"We have had a good block of preparation with players returning and we are ready to compete.

"I’m looking forward to seeing all the hard work come together on Saturday and what a place to kick start our Six Nations, in Stade Marie-Marvingt."

Ireland: Lauren Delany; Katie Corrigan, Eve Higgins, Aoife Dalton, Béibhinn Parsons;