Ireland face the might of Canada in this afternoon's second World Cup warm-up match looking to build on last weekend's comeback victory over Scotland.
Despite a shaky start, with the hosts finding themselves 14-0 down by the 23rd minute, Scott Bemand's side from there outscored their opponents five tries to one and earned a spirit-boosting win.
But the North Americans, ranked two in the world, are a step up in class and come into the game on the back of a 42-10 win over the USA, in which they scored 35 unanswered points.
The sides met as recently as last season in the WXV1 tournament in Canada where the home side were good value for a 21-8 win, Ireland hampered by two almost simultaneous yellow cards and a failure to execute chances that arose.
The Ireland team that kicks off at the Affidea Stadium in Belfast at midday shows eight changes to that team, the most notable of the absentees are Aoife Wafer, Dorothy Wall and Erin King, the latter two will miss the World Cup.
Wafer, Ireland's standout player of the last 12 months, is in a fitness race to make the tournament.
The soundings from camp suggest the 22-year-old Wexford woman may not be fit to feature in the opening two Pool C fixtures, against Japan on 24 August and Spain a week later.
The New Zealand game on 7 September, is, as is stands, a more likely target.
While Bemand stressed that results are secondary in these warm-up games, he'll have been delighted with the final score, 27-21, last weekend and the manner of the comeback from a new-look squad fielding three debutants and settling in four players, including captain Sam Monaghan, back into the fold after injuries.
As expected, there are multiple changes to the team for the Ravenhill clash with 10 players coming in.
Neve Jones captains the side in the middle of a new front row; Niamh O'Dowd and Linda Djougang come in.
Locks Fiona Tuite and Ruth Campbell replace Monaghan and Eimear Corri-Fallon, who both drop to the bench, while the back row remains unchanged.
Aoibheann Reilly starts inside Dannah O'Brien, with Enya Breen and Aoife Dalton in midfield.
Béibhinn Parsons and Anna McGann form the back-three with full-back Stacey Flood.
There'll be a debut off the bench for former England prop Ellena Perry, who won the last of 11 Red Roses caps in 2020.
Worryingly, co-captain Edel McMahon misses out with a knee injury although Bemand (below) indicated that it wasn't serious.
Coming so close to Monday’s squad announcement, however, is far from ideal given Ireland’s back row injuries.
On whether or not he had the 32-player squad picked yet, the coach said: "If you look at the games, and you look at the preparation phase, we've been together in camp eight weeks over a 10-week period, we're certainly getting much closer to it, where we're well placed now with what we think we need to see.
"We've been able to test some combinations.
"So also a little bit of Mystic Meg, looking into the future and seeing what could transpire in a competition phase.
"We've been able to test some things. So I'm pretty happy. There's always caveats.
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"Anybody that's followed the Lions will see that that people, the group, is always more than the group that gets on the plane in the first place.
"So how we are as a group of getting close to 40 players has been a really important part of our of our preparation, and we continue to be that,
"Yes, of course, we're starting to narrow down in terms of personnel and what combinations that we want to see, and we'll see how we pull through this game on the weekend."
Canada boss Kevin Rouet has made three changes to his side with Caroline Crossley replacing Gabrielle Senft in the back row.
Justine Pelletier starts at scrum-half, while Alysha Corrigan returns to the line-up.
"This game against Ireland is one last opportunity to focus on the details of our game and system to make sure we are as prepared as possible for the World Cup," said Rouet, whose side meet Scotland, Wales and Fiji in Pool B.
"Ireland will be a tough opponent, they showed that to us last year at WXV so we have to be ready for the challenge. They are a top-five team in the world."
This game is all about continued cohesion for Bemand's squad and seeing how they shape up against one of the world's best teams.
Staying in the contest, set to be played in a moderate breeze with sunny intervals, for as long as possible would give them a further boost before the real business begins in two weeks' time.
Ireland: Stacey Flood; Béibhinn Parsons, Aoife Dalton, Enya Breen; Anna McGann; Dannah O'Brien, Aoibheann Reilly; Niamh O’Dowd, Neve Jones (capt), Linda Djougang; Ruth Campbell, Fiona Tuite, Grace Moore, Ivana Kiripati, Brittany Hogan.
Replacements: Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald, Ellena Perry, Sadhbh McGrath, Eimear Corri-Follon, Sam Monaghan, Claire Boles, Emily Lane, Eve Higgins.
Canada: Julia Schell; Alysha Corrigan, Florence Symonds, Alexandra Tessier, Paige Farries; Claire Gallagher, Justine Pelletier; McKinley Hunt, Gillian Boag, DaLeaka Menin; Sophie de Goede, Tyson Beukeboom; Karen Paquin, Caroline Crossley, Fabiola Forteza.
Replacements: Emily Tuttosi, Brittany Kassil, Olivia DeMerchant, Courtney O'Donnell, Pamphinette Buisa, Olivia Apps, Shoshanah Seumanutafa, Sarah-Maude Lachance.
OFFICIALS
Referee: Aurélie Groizeleau (FFR)
Assistant Referee 1: Lauren Jenner (FIR)
Assistant Referee 2: Berenice Loubet (FFR)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
2024: Canada 21-8 Ireland, Langley, WXV1
2016: Ireland 7-48 Canada, UCD, November Series
2006: Ireland 15-8 Canada, Sportsground, Tour match
2002: Canada 57-0 Ireland, Girona, World Cup pool
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