Ireland's Rugby World Cup preparations have taken another major blow with confirmation that versatile forward Dorothy Wall has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury.
The lock/flanker is set to undergo surgery today on the Achilles injury she sustained in Saturday's Guinness Women’s Six Nations defeat to Scotland in Edinburgh, which will see her miss the tournament, which gets under way in England in August.
"I’m devastated to be missing the next couple of months, but my main focus now is on my rehab programme and I’m looking forward to supporting the team in the Rugby World Cup," Wall said.
The Exeter Chiefs forward had been a key player for Ireland in this championship, featuring in all five games, and scoring three tries.
Wall, who turns 25 this week, is already one of the most experienced players in Scott Bemand’s Irish squad with 37 caps, and would likely have been part of the first-choice second row partnership for the World Cup.
It’s the second major injury Ireland have been hit with in recent weeks, with flanker Erin King also set to miss the World Cup.
The 21-year-old, who won World Rugby’s Breakthrough Player of the Year in 2024, recently underwent surgery on a knee injury which she suffered in the round three defeat to England in Cork.
The Ireland squad finished third in the Six Nations, although their campaign finished on a sour note with a 26-19 defeat to Scotland on Saturday.
The squad will regather in early June to begin their pre-season camp ahead of the World Cup, with warm-up matches against Scotland on 2 August in Cork, before hosting Canada a week later in Belfast.
They take on Japan in their World Cup Pool C opener in Northampton on Sunday 24 August, with Spain and New Zealand their other pool opponents.
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