Yesterday marked 100 days to the kick off of the tournament and today sees the announcement of the extended training squad who will hope to represent Ireland in August.
The training panel boasts 13 players with previous World Cup experience including Claire Molloy, Marie-Louise Reilly, Niamh Briggs and Nora Stapleton, who will be hoping to appear in their third World Cup having featured in England (2010) and France (2014).
46 members of the squad have previous international experience, with 16 of the squad having lined out for Ireland at both 15s and 7s.
Nine players are uncapped at 15s, with six of those uncapped players being Ireland 7s internationals.
Players from eleven clubs across the country, along with exiles Sene Naoupu, Molloy and Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird, make up the panel.
The top four teams in the All-Ireland League are well represented, with Railway Union leading the way with 10 players. This includes Lindsay Peat, sisters Kim and Stacey Flood (pictured above in action at Las Vegas Sevens) as well as teenage outhalf Eve Higgins, who will concentrate on completing her Leaving Certificate before turning her full focus to World Cup matters.
Eight players from Old Belvedere, with the vastly experience quartet of Ailis Egan, Sophie Spence, Jenny Murphy and Alison Miller, who along with Stapleton and O'Reilly, made up the spine of the Ireland team that made the World Cup semi-final in 2014.
Recently crowned All-Ireland League Champions UL Bohemian have six players in the panel, including Captain Niamh Briggs, flankers Ciara Griffin and Anna Caplice and winger Eimear Considine.
Galwegians also have six representatives, Mairead Coyne, Nicole Fowley, Mary Healy, Ruth O'Reilly and her fellow front rowers Ciara O'Connor and Laura Feely.
Hooker Leah Lyons who started in every game of this year's Six Nations, is one of three Highfield players in the panel.
Cooke also have three players, one of whom is Ashleigh Baxter who will be hoping to play in her second World Cup.
Paula Fitzpatrick who captained the team in the Six Nations in the absence of Briggs is one of three players in the panel from St. Mary's College RFC.
Dual 15s and 7s internationals Katie Fitzhenry and Jeamie Deacon are the two Blackrock players to make the panel.
Four players from outside the Women's All Ireland League also feature, including newly promoted Tullamore's Nichola Fryday - who was capped during the Women's Six Nations, Ireland 7s captain Lucy Mulhall of Rathdrum, and Shannon pair Nicole Cronin and Aoife Doyle.
Speaking at the confirmation of the squad, Ireland Women's Head Coach Tom Tierney said "From the November tests and throughout the Six Nations, we wanted to develop depth in the squad and provide players with the opportunity to put their hand up for selection for the World Cup.
Finishing in second place in the Six Nations was a positive result for the team and we will look to build on this prior to August and the World Cup.
"The main goal for the coming months is to have our players as best prepared as possible for the World Cup.
It's a huge opportunity for the players, and for the country, to have an event as big as this one on our door step and we want to give the players every opportunity to perform over the course of the competition.
The aim now is to make sure the players that have been selected on this panel are all up to speed on how we want to play our game in August, as well as being physically fit for what will be a challenging and demanding tournament."
IRFU Director of Women's Rugby Anthony Eddy added; "We have named an experienced panel, encompassing players from a wide cross section of our clubs.
It's an exciting group and includes players who've performed for Ireland on the international stage, players we've been working closely with in the National Women's Programme, as well as several players who have been rewarded for their performances at provincial and club level over the course of the season.
As well as the nine internationals we've played since November, we will have a series of warm up games with a view to preparing well for the demands in August.
Selection in this panel does not guarantee selection in the WRWC squad announced in July. Players from outside the panel will continue to be invited to training days, where the can compete for positions and final selection.
We will have the best players from a wide number of our clubs and communities across Ireland."
The players selected will be involved in both skills and national camps over the coming months, and will play two warm-up games against Japan and a training camp with Spain, in the build-up to Ireland's opening World Cup game against Australia on the 9th August.
The final squad for the Women's Rugby World Cup will be confirmed in July.
Ireland Women's Training Panel - Women's Rugby World Cup 2017 - Connacht Players In Bold
Elaine Anthony (Highfield/Munster)
Ashleigh Baxter (Cooke/Ulster)
Anna Caplice (UL Bohemian/Munster)
Ciara Cooney (Railway Union/Leinster)
Jeamie Deacon (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster)
Ailis Egan (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Laura Feely (Galwegians/Connacht)*
Jennie Finlay (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Paula Fitzpatrick (St. Mary's College RFC/Leinster)
Orla Fitzsimons (St. Mary's College RFC/Leinster)
Nichola Fryday (Tullamore/Connacht)
Ciara Griffin (UL Bohemian/Munster)
Leah Lyons (Highfield/Munster)
Claire Molloy (Bristol/Connacht)
Cliodhna Moloney (Railway Union/Leinster)
Heather O'Brien (Highfield/Munster)
Ciara O'Connor (Galwegians/Connacht)
Ruth O'Reilly (Galwegians/Connacht)
Lindsay Peat (Railway Union/Leinster)
Marie-Louise Reilly (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Sophie Spence (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Ilse Van Staden (Cooke/Ulster)
Backs
Niamh Briggs (UL Bohemian/Munster)
Nikki Caughey (Railway Union/Ulster)
Eimear Considine (UL Bohemian/Munster)
Mairead Coyne (Galwegians/Connacht)
Nicole Cronin (Shannon RFC/Munster)*
Aoife Doyle (Shannon RFC/Munster)
Katie Fitzhenry (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster)
Kim Flood (Railway Union/Leinster)
Stacey Flood (Railway Union/Leinster) *
Nicole Fowley (Galwegians/Connacht)
Louise Galvin (UL Bohemian/Munster) *
Mary Healy (Galwegians/Connacht)
Eve Higgins (Railway Union/Leinster) *
Ailsa Hughes (Railway Union/Leinster)
Niamh Kavanagh (UL Bohemian/Munster)
Claire McLaughlin (Cooke/Ulster)
Alison Miller (Old Belvedere/Connacht)
Larissa Muldoon (Railway Union)
Lucy Mulhall (Rathdrum RFC) *
Jenny Murphy (Old Belvedere/Leinster
Amee-Leigh Murphy-Crowe (Railway Union/Munster) *
Sene Naoupu (Aylesford Bulls)
Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird (Aylesford Bulls /Munster)*
Nora Stapleton (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Hannah Tyrrell (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Megan Williams (St. Mary's College RFC) *
*Denotes uncapped at this level
Tickets are available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk/wrwc2017 and www.ticketmaster.ie/wrwc2017
Ireland Women's Fixtures for Women's Rugby World Cup 2017
Pool C Fixtures
Wednesday 9th August 2017
Ireland v Australia - 7pm - UCD Bowl, University College Dublin
Sunday 13th August 2017
Ireland v Japan - 5.15pm - UCD Bowl, University College Dublin
Thursday 17th August 2017
Ireland v France - 7.45pm - UCD Bowl, University College Dublin
Play-Off Dates
Tuesday 22nd August
Semi-Finals - Kingspan Stadium, Belfast
Ranking Games - Queen's University, Belfast
Saturday 26th August
Finals - Kingspan Stadium, Belfast
Ranking Games - Queen's University, Belfast
