Ireland back row Aoife Wafer said the Women's Six Nations game against Scotland at the Aviva Stadium will be a "full circle moment".

Wafer was in the crowd when Ireland last played at the Dublin venue as they picked up a five-try victory over Italy in 2014 which formed part of a Six Nations double-header alongside the men's team.

More than 30,000 tickets have been sold for the women's team's first stand-alone game at the Aviva and Wafer is "grateful" to get the opportunity to play in this one.

However, she warned Ireland cannot let the occasion get to them as they chase a third successive home win against a wounded Scotland side.

"I'm buzzing to get out there. I was one of the few that were in the stadium in 2014 when the Irish women last played there," she said.

"To remember those moments of post-game, interacting with the players and the good win they had that day too, it stood with me forever and now it's nearly a full-circle moment to get out on to the pitch myself, so I'm very grateful to get the opportunity.

"You can't let your mind slip into the massive occasion it's going to be because Scotland are a class side and if you let them into the game, they'll take a lot from you."

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Inpho

Ireland scrum coach Denis Fogarty insists a home Women's Six Nations game at the Aviva Stadium "is not a once-off" as they get ready for their final game of this year's competition against Scotland.

Over 30,000 tickets have been sold for what will be a special occasion for women's rugby in Ireland, but Fogarty stressed the importance of delivering a performance befitting of the occasion.

Former Munster hooker Fogarty is now into his fourth Six Nations campaign with the squad and feels it has been "quite a journey" to get to where they are now.

"This is what they've been working towards over the last couple of years and pleasing to see the numbers that are in now for Sunday," Fogarty said.

"It's exactly what the girls deserve, so it's all about making sure we put a performance out there.

"You've got to enjoy this occasion as this is what we've been looking towards, playing in front of a crowd like that at the Aviva in a stand-alone game, but we have talked about the performance and that's what matters to us."

Ireland go into the game with two wins from their four outings so far and a win on Sunday will secure third place.

Their two victories, against Italy and Wales, have come at home, so the ambition is to complete a clean sweep of their home fixtures.

Last week, they ran out 33-12 winners over Wales at Belfast's Affidea Stadium, but Fogarty feels there is room for improvement against the Scots who won last year's meeting between the teams.

"They've upset us a few times, so not taking them lightly will be one thing [we're guarded against], he added.

"We've looked on areas of the game from last week where Wales upset our speed of ball and made things difficult for us.

"It's about making sure we get that right on the day and focus on what we are able to do in those moments to allow us to play our game."

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Growing up, Eve Higgins' Six Nations tradition was a trip to Ashbourne to watch the women's game on a Friday before heading to Aviva Stadium for the men on a Saturday with her father.

While the crowds flocked to Dublin 4 for the men, attendances at the County Meath venue the previous evening weren't hitting the same heights.

But just as women's rugby in Ireland grew in stature, so too did the 'Green Wave' of support and today represents a significant milestone as for the first time, the Lansdowne Road venue will host a stand-alone women's game.

Back in 2014, a women's Six Nations game against Italy served as a curtain-raiser for the male equivalent, but with 28,000 tickets sold for this weekend's final round against Scotland so far, it has already tripled the record 9,206 fans who took in Ireland's opening home Six Nations game against Italy in April at Galway's Dexcom Stadium.

It's very much part of a trend with interest in the women's game growing rapidly and Ireland's opening game against England in this year's championship drew a record 77,120 to Twickenham's Aviva Stadium.

Higgins describes the prospect of playing in front of a record home crowd as "extremely special" but hopes it is "the first of many".

"When we heard, firstly, that there was 20,000 tickets sold, that was huge because we knew we were obviously beating our record crowd," the 26-year-old centre told BBC Sport NI.

"Even the fact that we've beaten a record crowd in this Six Nations, but to do it again by three will be extremely special.

"We spoke about this three or four years ago that we wanted to have games in the Aviva, but we wanted to do it at a time that we could fill the stadium as we didn't want to play in empty stadiums.

"The fact that our first occasion in this stadium will be in front of a record crowd of 28,000-plus people is brilliant and it shows you what performances can do. We just want to put on a show for the crowd this weekend."

Ireland hooker Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald said that enjoying her rollercoaster rugby journey "has made me play better".

The 32-year-old won her 50th cap for Ireland in their opening 2026 Women's Six Nations game against England in front of a record crowd at Twickenham.

She made her debut for Ireland in 2015, but after a spell in the international wilderness between 2022 and 2024, has had to wait longer than most to hit the milestone.

Despite that spell out of the squad, Moloney-MacDonald feels "privileged to experience it all" during various ups and downs in the past decade with the women's team and believes they are in a really strong place now.

"It makes me enjoy this a lot more and understand how lucky we are, because I'm maybe one of the only ones in the current squad who has been through all the different cycles in the last 10-11 years of Irish rugby and women's rugby in general," she told the Ireland Rugby Social podcast.

"Yes I compete and compete hard, but I understand how lucky I am and it should be fun. I'm here to enjoy rugby now, that's made me play better.

"There's not really anything we have to worry about form a culture point of view. 'Tricky' [Edel McMahon] and Sam [Monaghan, former Ireland co-captains] did great work in those initial few years when I wasn't here. They embedded a groundwork that doesn't need to be mentioned anymore. The squad are a brilliant group of people."

Scotland Rugby

Scotland have made two changes for the final match of their Women's Six Nations campaign, with number eight Emily Coubrough and wing Shona Champbell recalled.

Coubrough replaces Holland Bogan in the pack as Becky Boyd moves to blindside flanker, while Campbell comes in for Francesca McGhie, who is not involved after coming off injured against France.

Hooker Lana Skeldon is also unavailable due to a neck injury and centre Lisa Thomson is not yet fit to return to action after a long-term Achilles problem despite linking up with the squad last week.

Fly-half Helen Nelson continues to captain the side in the absence of Rachel Malcolm.

Scotland: Rollie, Lloyd, Philipps, Smith, Campbell, Nelson, Brebner-Holden; Bartlett, Martin, E. Clarke, Wassell, McMillan, Boyd, Donaldson, Coubrough.

Replacements: Sutcliffe, Swann, Poolman, Cunningham, Bogan, R. Clarke, Scott, Grant.

Ireland Rugby

Second row Sam Monaghan will make her first start of this Six Nations in the only change to Ireland's XV for today's final game against Scotland at the Aviva Stadium.

Monaghan replaces Dorothy Wall, who is among the replacements, in the sole alteration from the 33-12 win over Wales in Belfast.

The former co-captain was on the bench for the past three Six Nations matches after missing the opening game against England due to injury and will earn her 31st cap.

On the bench, Bemand has reverted to a 5:3 split with forwards Neve Jones, Sadhbh McGrath, Eilis Cahill, Dorothy Wall and Ruth Campbell on the bench alongside backs Katie Whelan, Vicky Elmes Kinlan and Niamh Gallagher.

Ireland: Flood; Parsons, Dalton, Higgins, O'Connor; O'Brien, Lane; Perry, Moloney-MacDonald, Djougang, Monaghan, Tuite, Hogan, King (capt), Wafer.

Replacements: Jones, McGrath, Cahill, Wall, Campbell, Whelan, Elmes Kinlan, Gallagher.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Scotland head coach Sione Fukofuka wants his team to embrace another landmark occasion for women's rugby and finish the tournament on a positive note when they face Ireland today.

After an opening victory against Wales, Fukofuka's side have been beaten comprehensively by England, Italy and France and sit fifth in the standings.

"We've been under a bit of pressure over the last few weeks," Fukofuka said.

"Obviously injuries have been challenging, but we do have an opportunity at a packed out Aviva to go out there and play with a bit of freedom and express ourselves and finish off the tournament on a high.

"We've spoken about taking that energy in and allowing that to fuel us as well, because we see there'll be a number of Irish fans, but at the same time it's a celebration of women's rugby and we want to play our part in that game."

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Ireland head coach Scott Bemand said his side "are desperate to get on the pitch and show people what they can do" in their final Six Nations match against Scotland at the Aviva Stadium.

Bemand's side are aiming to register their third home win of this campaign and secure third position in the table.

More than 30,000 tickets have been sold for the game in Dublin which is a record number for a women's rugby match in Ireland.

"We're desperate to get out there. We've done the prep work. Now it's about recover, refresh and get ready to go," Bemand said.

"The girls are desperate to get on the pitch and show people what they can do. I think we've got a confidence that says we know how to get our best versions out there, our best performance out there, and we'll go after that.

"It won't ever be perfect. That's not what rugby looks like."

Ireland's confidence will be high after beating Italy and Wales on home turf and they face a Scottish side who are without a win in their past three matches.

However, it was Scotland who were the 26-19 victors last time the sides met after a strong second-half comeback.

"They look like they're well organised. They'll take some breaking down," added Bemand.

"They look like they have a plan and know how to go about it to achieve it. What we're going to have to do is get physical. We're going to have to carry dominance.

"We're going to have to create the opportunities rather than opportunities just present themselves early in phases. That's alright with us. We understand the challenge."

Hello and welcome to our coverage of Ireland's final Women's Six Nations game against Scotland at the Aviva Stadium.

A record crowd of over 30,000 is expected at the Dublin venue for the first stand-alone women's game to be played there.

Scott Bemand's side will look to finish the tournament on a high and consolidate third place in the standings with a third home win of the campaign.

They face a Scotland side low on confidence. Sione Fukofuka's side have suffered three successive defeats since their opening win over Wales, but did beat Ireland in last year's tournament and will be coming to spoil the party.

You can watch the game live on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website, while we will also have live text commentary so you don't miss any of the action.

Enjoy!

Image source, Inpho