Offaly woman selected on Leinster senior rugby squad

AN Offaly woman has been selected on the Leinster senior rugby squad for the forthcoming Womens' Interprovincial Championship.

Aoibhe Kelly, a member of Tullamore Rugby Club, has been named on the 30 strong squad by head coach Ben Martin.

With many of last season’s squad unavailable for selection due to Rugby World Cup commitments with Ireland, Martin announced an initial training squad of 65 players last month, with a view to casting his and his coaches’ eyes over a wider range of players.

 That squad has now been reduced to 30, with Molly Boyne named as captain, and Jade Gaffney named as vice-captain for the four-game series ahead.

A back, Kelly is one of the youngest members of the 30. She started out her career with Roscrea before moving to Tullamore and has captained Leinster in the Leinster U18 interprovincial championship as well as playing for Ireland U18s at scrum half in the 6 Nations Championship earlier this year

The four-round Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championships kicks off on Sunday, August 10 when Leinster host Ulster at Energia Park (kick-off 2.30pm).

It was also confirmed this morning by the IRFU, that TG4 are back again this season as the broadcast partner for the games and all games will be available on their YouTube channel.

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The fixtures are:

Sunday, August 10 –

Leinster v Ulster, Energia Park, 2.30pm
Munster v Connacht, Virgin Media Park, 4.15pm

Saturday, August 16 – 

Leinster v Munster, Energia Park, 2.30pm
Connacht v Ulster, Dexcom Stadium, 4.15pm

Saturday, August 23 –

Connacht v Leinster, Dexcom Stadium, 2.30pm
Ulster v Munster, Kingspan Stadium, 4.15pm

Finals

Saturday, August 30 –

Games will be played at Energia Park