Ireland head coach Adam Griggs has named his match day squad for their final outing in this year's Six Nations tournament.
Following a heavy defeat to France in Energia Park last weekend, Ireland are now competing for third place hosting Italy in Donnybrook on Saturday.
There are three changes to the starting XV from the 56-15 defeat to the Blues. Brittany Hogan and Stacey Flood get their first Test start, alongside Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe who featured off the bench in last weekend's fixture.
#WomensSixNations
📄 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 🟢
Head Coach Adam Griggs has named his Ireland Match Day 23 for Saturday's @Womens6Nations game against Italy at Energia Park 🙌
More: https://t.co/vkQWf4tXgP#IrishRugby #ShoulderToShoulder #IREvITA pic.twitter.com/L05uNFhnLK— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) April 22, 2021
Flood comes in at fly-half while Murphy-Crowe takes the wing, slotting in amongst Kathryn Dane, Beibhinn Parsons, Sene Naoupu, Eve Higgins and Eimear Considine in the backs.
Last weekend's try-scorer Cliodhna Moloney retains her spot as hooker, with the substitution of Claire Molloy representing the only change in the pack.
Ireland will be hoping for a positive result on Saturday, despite the disappointment of the French result, having beat the Italians 21-7 in the pairs last meeting in October.
Italy had been due to play the fixture at home, however surrendered home advantage in order to alloy the game to go ahead as the Irish team would not have been able to complete the necessary 14-day quarantine if the match was played in Parma.
In the weekend's other fixtures, England face France in the championship decider (KO 2pm), while Scotland and Wales decide who receives the wooden spoon for 2021 (KO 5pm).
Kick-off on Saturday is at 12pm, with live coverage on RTÉ Two.
