Jemima Adams Verling earns Test debut as Ireland name squad for WXV opener against USA

Jemima Adams Verling will make her Test debut when Ireland face the USA Women’s Eagles in their WXV Global Series 2026 opener at Dublin’s Tallaght Stadium on Sunday, head coach Scott Bemand confirmed in his matchday squad announcement.

The 20-year-old Connacht forward is the only uncapped player named in the 23, and will start at blindside flanker alongside captain Erin King and two-time Guinness Women’s Six Nations Player of the Championship Aoife Wafer in the back-row. Adams Verling has progressed through Ireland’s age-grade system and caught the eye for the Clovers in Celtic Challenge competition and Connacht in the Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship, having previously featured in extended Ireland squads.

Brittany Hogan, who was a back-row mainstay during this year’s Women’s Six Nations, drops to the replacements bench to accommodate the debutant.

In the front-row, Niamh O’Dowd starts at loosehead prop — a position that became available following Ellena Perry’s retirement at the end of the 2025/26 season. O’Dowd is joined by Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald and Linda Djougang to complete the starting front-row, with Sadhbh McGrath among the replacements.

Absences through injury have reshaped the lock pairing, with Sam Monaghan and Ruth Campbell both unavailable. Dorothy Wall and Fiona Tuite-O’Sullivan start together in the second row, while Jane O’Clohessy provides cover from the bench.

In the backs, Emily Lane and Dannah O’Brien form the half-back partnership, with Aoife Dalton and Eve Higgins combining in midfield. Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Robyn O’Connor and Stacey Flood make up the back three.