| Born | 6 August 2003 New Zealand [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 157 cm (5 ft 2 in) [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ivana Kiripati (born 6 August 2003) is an Irish rugby union player who plays in the back row for Creggs RFC and Connacht, and represents Ireland at international level. [3] [5] [4]
Kiripati was born in New Zealand and is of Samoan heritage. [1] [6] She was raised and educated in Athlone, and played her underage rugby with Buccaneers RFC. [6]
She earned a scholarship to American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts, and graduated in 2025, studying criminal justice and psychology. [6]
Rugby is a family tradition: her parents Kolo and Mele both played, and Mele coached Kiripati during her time with Buccaneers. [7]
After playing underage rugby with Buccaneers, Kiripati became registered with Creggs and progressed through Connacht’s age-grade pathway. [6] [7] She also featured for the Clovers in the Celtic Challenge. [7]
Kiripati represented Ireland at under-20 level, including selection for the 2024 Six Nations Women’s Summer Series squad, where she was listed among the under-23 players available for selection. [8]
In May 2025, she was named in Ireland’s Rugby World Cup preparation squad. [9] She made her senior debut against Scotland at Virgin Media Park, Cork, in August 2025. [10] [11] She won a second cap during the same warm-up window, against Canada. [6]
Kiripati was named in Ireland’s squad for the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup. [4]
In November 2025, Kiripati was awarded her first senior national contract as part of the IRFU’s centralised Women’s High Performance Programme for the 2025–26 season. [12]