Scots Shake-Up Selection For Final Play-Off

Scotland go into their final World Cup fixture against Ireland tomorrow (5 September, Surrey Sports Park, kick-off 11.15am) with the aim of further increasing their world ranking.Uncapped Lisa Martin (stand off / scrum half) comes on to the bench having joined the squad as replacement for Celia Hawthorn, who returned home with a knee injury. Playing her last international is back row, Donna Kennedy who, gaining her 115th cap on Sunday, is currently the world’s most capped woman player.Said head coach, Gary Parker: We played Ireland in December, in the Six Nations, in a training game and here we areplaying them in the last game of the season. We know each other well.We’re a developing side, with lots of youngsters coming through. If we can win the game on Sunday and finish in seventh place it will be a big achievement for this squad and give us a great platform to build on for the future. Having started the tournament in ninth place, the Scots are now sitting in eighth spot, with the prospect of raising themselves to seventh.Sunday’s selection sees hooker Sarah-Louise Walker, prop Beth Dickens and fullback Nicola Halfpenny move from the  bench into the starting line-up. Jilly McCord switches from prop to lock,Susie Brown moves from lock to number 8 andStephanie Johnston switches to the wing from fullback.The last time the two teams met, in Scotland’s final, non cap warm-up game prior to the World Cup, the Scots beatIreland 20-15 at Lasswade.Scotland Women v Ireland, Surrey Sports Park, kick-off 11.15am15 Nicola Halfpenny (Melrose)14 Katy Green (Murrayfield Wanderers)13 Lucy Millard (Team Northumbria)12 Veronica Fitzpatrick (Royal High Cougars)11 Stephanie Johnston (Hillhead / Jordanhill)10 Tanya Griffith (Royal High Cougars)9 Sarah Gill (Murrayfield Wanderers)1 Heather Lockhart (Hillhead / Jordanhill)2 Sarah-Louise Walker (Watsonians)3 Beth Dickens (Murrayfield Wanderers)4 Gillian McCord (Royal High Cougars)5 Lindsay Wheeler (Darlington Mowden Park)6 Lynne Reid CAPTAIN (Royal High Cougars)7 Donna Kennedy (Worcester)8 Susie Brown (Richmond)Substitutes16 Alison Macdonald (Royal High Cougars)17 Louise Moffat (Murrayfield Wanderers)18 Rosalind Murphy (Edinburgh University)19 Ruth Slaven (Murrayfield Wanderers)20 Lisa Martin (Murrayfield Wanderers)21 Louise Dalgliesh (Royal High Cougars)22 Suzi Newton (Team Northumbria)Referee: Joyce Henry (Canada)Assistant referee: Nicky Inwood (NZ)Assistant referee: Natalie Amor (England)SCOTLAND WOMEN RUGBY WORLD CUP SCHEDULEFriday 20 August Canada (37) – (10) ScotlandTuesday 24 August France (17) – (7) ScotlandSaturday 28 August Scotland (32) – (5) SwedenWednesday 1 September Scotland (0) – (41) Canada (5th place play-off)Sunday 5 September Ireland v Scotland (7th/8th place play-off)Lisa MartinClub: Murrayfield WanderersPosition: Stand-off / scrum halfBorn: 31 March 1990Lisa began playing for Portobello Minis when she was eight, joined Murrayfield Wanderers when she was 11, then worked her way through the age grades as a member of the under-16, under-18 and Scotland A squads, prior to being called in as replacement to the World Cup squad. The Portobello High School former pupil is now studying Applied Sports Science at Edinburgh University.