Graduate of Mayo rugby club in training camp with Ireland seniors

Former Ballina RFC player Ailish Quinn took part in a three-day training camp with the Irish senior squad this week as the women in green prepare for the upcoming Six Nations Championship.

Ailish (now Galwegians RFC/Connacht), who made her Irish senior debut last year, joined up with Scott Bemand's squad at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin as their championship preparations continue ahead of the opening clash with world champions England in Twickenham on April 11.

Bemand selected 37 players for the camp, giving them a chance to reconnect as a group following the Rugby World Cup.

Following the trip to London, Ireland will host Italy at the Dexcom Stadium in Galway on Saturday, April 18 (kick-off 5.40 p.m.), in what will be a milestone occasion for Irish rugby. The newly-renovated home of Connacht Rugby, which officially opens next week, will play host to its first Women’s Six Nations match, with the Ireland women’s only previous appearance in Galway being a 15-8 victory over Canada in April 2006.

Bemand’s charges then travel to France in round three on Saturday, April 25 (kick-off 9.10 p.m. local time, 8.10 p.m. Irish time), before concluding the championship with back-to-back home games in Belfast and Dublin.

Ulster’s Affidea Stadium has staged a number of women’s internationals in recent years and Wales will be the visitors to Belfast in round four on Saturday, May 9 (kick-off 6.30 p.m.), before Scotland come to the Aviva Stadium on the final weekend on Sunday, May 17 (kick-off 2.30 p.m.).

The round five clash will be the first ever standalone women’s international at the home of Irish rugby and ticket sales have already passed the 12,000 mark.