McWilliams said: “This is a great start for us as a group, we’re really excited about the youth and experience in the team.
“We’ll learn a lot from this game, but for these players to go out and represent Ireland at the RDS is going to be special.
“It’ll be a great occasion and I’m excited to see how they perform, because we’ve got through a lot of work over the last couple of weeks.”
Ireland team: Eimear Considine, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Eve Higgins, Stacey Flood, Lucy Mulhall, Nicole Cronin, Aoibheann Reilly
Linda Djougang, Neve Jones, Katie O’Dwyer, Nichola Fryday, Sam Monaghan, Dorothy Wall, Edel McMahon , Brittany Hogan
Dorothy Wall has returned from injury having missed last Autumn’s November Series to start at blindside flanker, with Edel McMahon selected at openside and Brittany Hogan at number eight.
Reilly partners Nicole Cronin in the half-backs, with the Limerick native returning to the green jersey to win her 17th Test cap.
There is a new-look centre partnership with Stacey Flood linking up with Eve Higgins in midfield, while Lucy Mulhall, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe and Eimear Considine make up the back three.
Nichola Fryday will captain the side in south Dublin as announced earlier this week.metasports
Reilly has been named to start at scrum-half having impressed for Blackrock College during the Energia All-Ireland League season, while forwards Christy Haney and Anna McGann are set for their first Test caps off the bench.
In his first game in charge, Greg McWilliams has opted for a blend of youth and experience in his side.