Ireland without rising star Beibhinn Parsons for top-of-the-table clash against England

When Ireland travel to Doncaster to try and knock England off their professional perch on Sunday, they will do so without a player who has made an electrifying impact on their pristine Six Nations campaign.

Beibhinn Parsons is only 18 and after scoring memorable tries in both of Ireland’s opening Six Nations wins, will not feature for the rest of the tournament due to preparations for her upcoming Leaving Cert (the equivalent of A-Levels in Ireland).

The player from County Galway was quickly hailed a rising star after running the length of the field in Ireland’s opening victory over Scotland. She followed it up by a dizzying foray into a labyrinth of Welsh defenders the subsequent week to dot down again.

“It’s been a couple of big weeks for Beibhinn, but we spoke to her and came up with a plan at the start,” said Adam Griggs, Ireland’s head coach. “Her studies are very important so we’ll be giving her the time off and she’ll concentrate on her Leaving Cert and come back to us in the summer.”

It is not uncommon for players in the women’s game to facilitate their rugby careers with university studies. Heather Kerr is not on a central contract with England but still made the cut for Simon Middleton’s professional squad alongside her engineering PhD at Durham. Nor is winger Abby Dow, who often crams her own engineering studies into what free time she has during England training camps.

Beibhinn’s meteoric rise is a testament to how those on the women’s international scene are becoming younger, with an increasing number benefitting from enhanced player pathways. The same can be said for 21-year-old Detysha Harper, a product of England’s under-20s ranks, who could earn her first England stripes at Castle Park.

A more backwards step for Ireland is their continued reliance on their sevens string, which is expected to magnify the difference between them and England who, since turning professional last year, have resisted the need for swapping players in and out of both codes of the game.

“The sevens girls are always welcomed with open arms,” said Ireland captain Ciara Griffin at last month’s Six Nations launch. “We’re one squad and we’re all a collective. We all have the same goals to put our best foot forward for the green jersey. We don’t see it as sevens and 15s, we’re all one.”

Will such stoicism be enough to arm Ireland, the 2013 Six Nations Grand Slam winners, with enough ammunition to overpower England? Griggs’ side have yet to concede a point in the opening 20 minutes of a match in the tournament and Middleton is well aware of their potency around the breakdown.

“We’ll be a step closer if we win,” Middleton told Telegraph Sport. “We’ve got Wales at The Stoop [next week] and then a very good Italy side after that in Italy who beat France in last year’s tournament. We’re certainly not going to be taking anything for granted.”