Aoife Wafer ruled out as Ireland name squad for South Africa Tests

Aoife Wafer will miss Ireland's WXV Global Series trip to South Africa after being left out of Scott Bemand's 30-player squad, BBC Sport reported. The 23-year-old Harlequins forward, twice named Women's Six Nations player of the tournament, will not travel for the two Tests against the Springbok Women in Cape Town on 24 and 31 October.

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Wafer had already been absent for Ireland's consecutive victories over Japan in Galway and Cork. The Irish Rugby Football Union described the problem that kept her out of those matches as a minor injury sustained during training. Her omission now extends to both South Africa fixtures; the BBC report did not provide a date for her return to action.

There is a change elsewhere among Ireland's injured forwards. Second row Ruth Campbell is back in the squad following an ankle injury, although former co-captain Sam Monaghan remains unavailable because of an Achilles injury. Campbell is listed with 17 caps in the travelling group, which contains 17 forwards and 13 backs and will be captained by Erin King.

Bemand has also retained several players who have recently made their international debuts. Beth Buttimer, Jemima Adams Verling, Kate Jordan and Sophie Barrett are included among the forwards, with Alana McInerney selected in the backs. Jordan, Barrett and McInerney each have one cap, while Buttimer has two and Adams Verling three, according to the squad list published by BBC Sport.

Those newer internationals are joined by a number of more experienced players. Linda Djougang has 60 caps, Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald 55 and Neve Jones 49 in the forward group. Among the backs, Eve Higgins has 39 appearances, with Beibhinn Parsons and Dannah O'Brien both on 38. King, who leads the touring squad, has 15 caps.

Ireland have spent the week following the Japan victories training remotely. The players are due back at the IRFU High Performance Centre on Monday before departing for Cape Town on Thursday. The October matches will renew an international pairing that has occurred only once before: Ireland beat South Africa 37-0 at the 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup in Canada.