Skip to main content

Beta testing. Real payments work with crypto only. Card payments (Stripe) are test-only for now.

Back to news
Rugby Union
1 min read

Wafer ruled out of Ireland's South Africa Tests

Influential forward Aoife Wafer is ruled out of Ireland's WXV Global Series trip to South Africa later this month.
Wafer ruled out of Ireland's South Africa Tests

Aoife Wafer has been ruled out of Ireland's WXV Global Series trip to South Africa later this month.

The two-time Women's Six Nations player of the tournament missed Ireland's back-to-back wins over Japan in Galway and Cork after sustaining what the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) called a "minor injury in training".

However, the 23-year-old Harlequins player will not travel with head coach Scott Bemand's 30-player squad for the WXV contests against the Springbok Women in Cape Town on 24 and 31 October.

Former co-captain Sam Monaghan remains unavailable with an Achilles injury but second row Ruth Campbell returns from an ankle injury to make the squad.

The squad, led by captain Erin King, includes recently capped players Beth Buttimer, Jemima Adams Verling, Kate Jordan, Sophie Barrett and Alana McInerney.

Following a remote training week after the wins over Japan, the Ireland squad will return to the IRFU High Performance Centre on Monday before travelling to Cape Town on Thursday.

Ireland's only previous meeting with South Africa was a 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup match in Canada, which the Irish won 37-0.

Beth Buttimer (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)(2)

Brittany Hogan (Sale Sharks)(46)

Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald (Exeter Chiefs)(55)

Dorothy Wall (Exeter Chiefs)(44)

Eilis Cahill (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)(7)

Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(15)(captain)

Fiona Tuite-O'Sullivan (Old Belvedere RFC/Ulster)(28)

Grace Moore (Munster)(30)

Jane Clohessy (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)(3)

Jemima Adams Verling (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)(3)

Kate Jordan (Blackrock College/Leinster)(1)

Linda Djougang (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(60)

Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury)(49)

Niamh O'Dowd (Gloucester-Hartpury)(25)

Ruth Campbell (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(17)

Sadhbh McGrath (Cooke RFC/Ulster)(24)

Sophie Barrett (Enniskillen RFC/Cooke RFC/Ulster)(1)

Alana McInerney (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)(1)

Anna McGann (Railway Union RFC/Connacht)(20)

Aoibheann Reilly (Blackrock College RFC/Connacht)(22)

Aoife Dalton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(36)

Beibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College/Connacht)(38)

Dannah O'Brien (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(38)

Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC/Munster)(28)

Enya Breen (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster)(34)

Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC/Leinster)(39)

Niamh Gallagher (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby)(4)

Robyn O'Connor (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster)(6)

Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC/Leinster)(31)

Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow RFC/Leinster)(8)

Comments0

Your sport, all in one place

Rugby Union

Follow the stories, and hear of new ones in your feed and notifications.

Picks to explore

All Rugby Union picks

About this story and its source

Who published the story, when it came out, and where to read more.

It was published on October 9, 2026 and last updated on October 10, 2026. The time of the story is shown in your own time zone on the page.

Open the Rugby Union news for more stories, or see the matches with analyst picks and the list of analysts to compare their records before you buy a pick.