Munster centre Enya Breen will skipper Ireland for the first time against Canada in Vancouver on Saturday (23:45 BST) in a game to be shown live on BBC iPlayer.
The change comes after usual captain Edel McMahon was ruled out of the WXV1 fixture against the world’s second ranked side through an injury sustained in training.
For the second of three Tests in this year’s competition, head coach Scott Bemand has made four changes in total from the side that had a shock win over New Zealand in their opener.
Hooker Neve Jones drops to the bench with Cliodhna Moloney starting in the front-row alongside Niamh O’Down and Linda Djougang.
Erin King, who scored two tries in that victory over the Black Ferns, replaces McMahon in the back-row, starting at six with Aoife Wafer shifting over to openside.
Eve Higgins takes the place of Aoife Dalton alongside Breen in midfield, with the Leinster centre to wear the number 23 jersey, while there is a first start for Emily Lane at scrum-half as Molly Scuffil-McCabe reverts to the bench.
Munster back-row Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird and Connacht fly-half Nicole Fowley both are among the replacements having not featured against the Black Ferns.
After facing Canada, Ireland will round out their campaign by facing USA next weekend.
Ireland: Flood; Considine, Higgins, Breen, Murphy Crowe; O’Brien, Lane; O’Dowd, Moloney, Djougang; Wall, Tuite; King, Wafer, Hogan.
Replacements: Jones, McCarthy, Stock, Moore, Nic a Bhaird, Scuffil-McCabe, Fowley, Dalton.