World Cup A 'very Different Experience' From 2017

Women's Rugby World Cup - Pool C: Ireland v Spain

Venue: Franklin's Gardens, Northampton Date: Sunday, 31 August Kick-off: 12:00 BST

Coverage: Live connected BBC Two, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sport website and app.

Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald is Ireland's sole subsister from nan 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup and says it's "a very different experience" this clip around.

The 32-year-old hooker will make her first commencement of nan 2025 title against Spain connected Sunday, having been a 2nd half replacement successful past Sunday's opening 42-14 triumph against Japan.

Moloney-MacDonald - whose wife, Claudia, scored a effort successful England's 92-3 triumph complete Samoa connected Saturday - has knowledgeable nan highs and lows successful nan greenish jersey and says she is "excited" to commencement against Spain.

It's a large week for a number of nan Irish squad, pinch Linda Djougang preparing to triumph her 50th headdress and Sadhbh McGrath celebrating her 21st day connected Saturday, while Moloney-MacDonald's Exeter Chiefs club-mate Nancy McGillivray is successful statement for her first sensation of World Cup action having been named connected nan bench.

"It's a very different experience, moreover successful position of nan members of unit we person and really large nan squad is," she told BBC Sport NI.

"We'd only 28 backmost past and now we've 32. You'd beryllium amazed really overmuch those 4 players tin make to nan value of training.

"The past 1 was typical because it was a location World Cup successful Ireland and this 1 is arsenic adjacent arsenic it could be, but past you person nan numbers growing.

"It's Sadhbh McGrath's 21st day coming and past you person Linda getting her 50th (cap), stark contrasts, but nan younger girls are not fazed by that. If I was 21 astatine that past World Cup successful 2017 it would person been a very different acquisition for me."

The celebrations person been put connected crystal until aft Sunday's crippled successful Northampton wherever Ireland will activity to unafraid a quarter-final spot.

Spain had a reliable day successful their opener against New Zealand, going down 54-8 against nan Black Ferns, but Moloney-MacDonald is not downplaying nan task ahead.

"They are very fresh and fast, person a batch of Sevens acquisition successful their extracurricular backs," she noted.

"They play a small spot disconnected nan cuff and airs immoderate jackal threats connected nan edge. It's a different acquisition than Japan past week, but we are hoping to build connected a fewer things from past week arsenic well. Nailing down our defence successful nan first mates of phases will beryllium cardinal and past managing nan breakdowns.

"They've had a reliable mates of weeks, playing England successful their warm-up crippled and past playing New Zealand successful their first World Cup game. I thought they played really good successful nan first half and showed a batch of what they tin do if fixed clip and abstraction connected nan ball."