The 31 year old lecturer in Carlow IT is facing into her second Rugby World Cup and the St. Mary’s woman is hoping to scale similar heights to 2014.
Name: Paula Fitzpatrick
Club: St. Mary’s College RFC
Position: Back Row
Born: Dublin, Aug 12, 1985
Height/Weight: 174cm/80kg
Caps: 31
Debut: v France, 2012 Six Nations
Occupation: Sports Science Lecturer
World Cup Experience: Second World Cup
Twitter: @Paula_Fitz
Did You Know: Fitzpatrick spent a season, at her own expense, with Toulouse in the French Top 8 in 2016 to get more experience of rugby in a different environment. While this season, in the absence of the injured Niamh Briggs, Fitzpatrick was the Irish captain for the 2017 6 Nations campaign.
WRWC 2017 Fixtures:
Pool C –
Ireland v Australia, UCD Bowl, 7pm, Wednesday, August 9
Ireland v Japan, UCD Bowl, 5.15pm, Sunday, August 13
France v Ireland, UCD Bowl, 7.45pm, Thursday, August 17
For more on the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup, visit the tournament website – www.rwcwomens.com. Any remaining match tickets for #WRWC2017 are now on www.ticketmaster.ie/wrwc2017.
IRELAND WRWC 2017 Squad – Backs (13): Niamh Briggs (UL Bohemians/Munster) (capt), Eimear Considine (UL Bohemians/Munster), Mairead Coyne (Galwegians/Connacht), Nicole Cronin (UL Bohemians/Munster) *, Jeamie Deacon (Blackrock/Leinster), Katie Fitzhenry (Blackrock/Leinster), Claire McLaughlin (Cooke/Ulster), Alison Miller (Old Belvedere/Connacht), Larissa Muldoon (Railway Union), Jenny Murphy (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Sene Naoupu (Harlequins), Nora Stapleton (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Hannah Tyrrell (Old Belvedere/Leinster).
Forwards (15): Ashleigh Baxter (Cooke/Ulster), Anna Caplice (UL Bohemians/Munster), Ciara Cooney (Railway Union/Leinster), Ailis Egan (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Paula Fitzpatrick (St. Mary’s/Leinster), Ciara Griffin (UL Bohemians/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).
* Denotes uncapped player