Ireland captain Niamh Briggs has been ruled out of the Women's Rugby World Cup through injury.
The experienced full-back suffered an achilles injury in training. The Waterford native had recently recovered from the hamstring injury that ruled her out of this year's Six Nations.
The news was confirmed by Ireland management after training.
"Both the players and management are really disappointed for Niamh as everyone has seen the incredible work and effort she's put in over the last number of months in an attempt to get herself right for this tournament" said head coach Tom Tierney.
"For her to have recovered well from her hamstring injury and then suffer a new injury is really unfortunate for her, as everyone knows how much she was looking forward to leading the team in the World Cup."
Louise Galvin has been called into the squad as replacement for Niamh, and a new Ireland Captain to lead the team during the Women's Rugby World Cup campaign will be confirmed by the Ireland Women's Management team in the coming days.
